The Dramaless College Years Right?
by JimBo854
Summary: My first fic story set at the start of season four. Whoever said the drama ends in high school never met these kids. ABANDONED FOR THE TIME BEING.
1. The Future Now 1

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: Never owned it before, don't own it now, won't in the future… unless that fairy godmother gets off her lazy butt.

_A/N: This fic picks up two days before the gang starts college, effectively my take on a fourth season. Some casting notes – Caitlin Cooper becomes a series regular. Summer Roberts is a recurring character, at least for the first few episodes. And some former characters will enter the scene down the line. But on with the show, here is a recap and short prologue._

_**Previously on The O.C.**_

To set the stage in this universe, you need to know how season three ended. Julie and Kirsten's business was finally getting off of the ground, allowing her to put a down payment on a two-bedroom house in the oft-mentioned _numbered streets_. Caitlin and Marissa worked through their issues and ended up as closer sisters than they ever were before. Despite interest on both people's parts, Julie and Dr. Roberts still haven't gotten off the ground. Sandy and Kirsten are still pretty perfect in their Sandy/Kirsten-ness, as it should be. The O.C. power couples were going through some tough times. Summer was accepted to Brown and Seth was not. On top of that impending threat of separation, Seth's recreational pot smoking became a major thorn in Sum's side. Marissa and Ryan were just getting past the Johnny/Caitlin fiasco when everybody's least favorite recurring character Theresa showed up, fresh from Atlanta with a 16-month-old baby girl in her arms. The season ended with Ryan and Marissa sitting by the pool promising they wouldn't abandon each other and that they could and would work it out.

**Episode One: The Future Now (Chapter One)**

It's early in the morning, but it isn't Orange County that Ryan Atwood is driving through. He is in L.A., driving the Cohen's range rover past several apartment buildings, of course its slow going. The streets and sidewalks are littered with students starting a new year at the University of Southern California. He comes to a sudden stop watching a girl, probably a new freshman, hugging her parents goodbye in the middle of the street and Ryan Atwood smiles. His smile only grows as he starts up again. It's been a long summer, but now he's back and he is going to see Seth again. And later he'd see Marissa. All is right with the world.

As he pulls over in front of the address Kirsten gave him when he got home last night, Ryan sees one familiar face in the crowd, walking along with a bag of bagels.

"Caitlin Cooper!"

Caitlin whirls around to see Ryan, the color drains out of her face a little as he comes up and gives her a hug. "Wow, Ryan. Um… Long time, no see." Caitlin looks even more flushed and goes into a bit of panic mode. "How was Atlanta? Are Theresa and the baby okay? When did you get back? Does Marissa know your back?"

Ryan pulls out of the hug and looks at her for a second, studying her face. "Atlanta was good. Theresa and Mary are both fine. But I'm back until Thanksgiving, you know, design and architecture classes at UCLA. I'm going to get my degree before I become a full-time dad, just like Marissa and I talked about before I left. I actually haven't seen her yet. I just got in last night and wanted to see Seth, so Kirsten sent me up here with bagels. Are you all right? You seem look a little sick."

"No, I'm fine. Perfect even."

"Wait, are you and Seth-"

"Oh God Ryan, I'm a high school freshman and if I might add... Ew. I'm just visiting, but at least we both had the bagel idea."

"Sorry."

Ryan begins walking up the steps to the building. The door is propped open by moving boxes so they walk into the crowded hallway and make their way to room 401. Through all of it Ryan wears his smile. He is seeing Seth again! No matter what blood says, his brother. He barely can contain himself as he knocks on the door.

The door opens and there is Seth in typical early morning Cohen ensemble: sweats, a ratty old t-shirt and an out of control head of hair. "Caitlin, you're—Ryan. Does your mother know about these changes?"

Ryan and Seth quickly give each other a hug and Ryan remembers that first tentative hug when he thought he would never see Seth again. After the hug breaks up Seth stands in the doorway, saying nothing. It is Caitlin that breaks the silence, "Well, can we come in?"

"Yeah, right, sure, no need to yell," Seth mutters as he leads them into the living room of the apartment. Most of the room is filled with boxes still needed to be unpacked. Of course the Playstation 2 and television are already set up. "I was just putting on some coffee, you want?"

"Sure, man." As Seth moves quickly toward the kitchen, a voice heads up the hallway from the bathroom.

"God Cait, what took you so long, I'm starved."

And there they all are: Caitlin, Ryan, Seth and Marissa Cooper: wearing nothing but a London Calling t-shirt and a wet head of hair. The pause starts and doesn't end soon. Seth wheels around on his heels wearing a typical Seth Cohen pensive expression on his face. Marissa goes white. Caitlin, still standing behind Ryan winces and rubs her eyes. The silence continues to drag. Ryan looks across the room at Seth then at Marissa a couple feet to his left, then back again. It is finally Caitlin that breaks the silence, "So who wants bagels?"

Cue that theme music…


	2. The Future Now 2

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: Still not so much with the owning.

_A/N: Since this is my first fic, I figure I owed you a quick second, full-sized chapter. Please R&R._

**Episode One: The Future Now (Chapter Two)**

Seth and Ryan are alone in the kitchen, trying as hard as possible to not look at each other. Ryan sits quietly at the small kitchen table and distracts himself by looking around the apartment. The kitchen is actually much more put together than the living room. There are no boxes lying around. All the appliances and dishware and cups are all in their places. It reminds him of a smaller version of the Cohen kitchen. Of course the two-dozen bagels now sitting on the table in front of him help with that comparison. The kitchen only has the three walls, opening up to the living room. Besides the TV and Playstation he noticed earlier on the wall opposite the kitchen, there really isn't a lot set-up yet. The only piece of furniture is the navy blue couch set a few feet from the TV.

At first he only notices the Cohen-y things: the TV and Playstation, the open boxes of games next to it, the cardboard cases full of comics in the far right corner next to the tv, the half-organized record collection and boxes labeled SETH BOOKS sitting in front of three unopened, unassembled boxes of shelves. Then he sees other things mixed in with Seth's things. There are boxes labeled COOPER FAMILY PHOTOS and RIS'S BOOKS. There is the Sex Pistols poster in the far left corner on the inside of the door that Caitlin and Marissa walked through just a minute ago. There is a two-inch thick pile of fashion magazines next to the couch that definitely doesn't scream "Cohen". And sitting there in front of the comic boxes, why didn't he see it before, Share Bear and Captain Oats, sitting side-by-side.

Ryan takes another long look around the room from right to left. On the other side of the wall in front of him is the hallway that leads to the bathroom and bedroom. And Ryan just sits there a second thinking about it. The one bedroom. He is woken from his haze as Seth turns around and sets a cup of coffee in front of him and sits down next to him.

It was after another moment, Seth who decided to try and be the _brave_ one.

"So."

"Yeah, um, I don't suppose you have an ashtray?" Ryan asks, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket.

"Actually no, I don't smoke anymore. Not anything. Gave it up over the summer," Seth answers. "You know... allergies and all. When did you start again?"

"I started working on a couple of construction jobs over the summer to pay some bills, help with Mary. And I just kind of picked it up again. That's how is goes I guess," Ryan replied. "But that's good. You know, that you aren't—"

"High as a kite? Yeah I gave that up not too long after… well obviously Sethummer ended more Bennifer and less Garfleck."

Ryan took a drink of his coffee, hesitant where the next step in the conversation would take him. Seth mostly stared at his own cup, knowing he left the door open.

"How… um, how long after I left…"

"The next day. Come on man, you know I'd never just move right in."

"Well apparently you _both_ did. Here." Seth had never heard such venom in Ryan's voice before. At least not since the Oliver situation three and a half years ago.

"Look, you left. Again, I might add. School isn't out less than 48 hours and you give up our last summer as the fantastic four and head to Atlanta for three months. And I know why and I don't hold it against you; not for a second. But I got a chance to realize what we did to Summer and Marissa before. I got to be one of the people left behind. You left and I didn't even leave the house for two weeks. Summer calls it off and that is a whole story I can't even wrap my head around to this day. So there we were alone and broken, all four of us. And-and-and… I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't be depressed anymore. The whole Lone Wolf thing wasn't working out. I went outside, which I admit is a phenomenon in Orange County even before you left."

"Are you coming up on the part where you hooked up with my girlfriend yet!"

"I know you called a few times, Mom was glad to hear from you. So was Dad, but Marissa and I just felt worse. And we just decided not to fall apart. I got together my money from the first run of Atomic County and the two of us took a road trip and then—"

"A road trip. You and Marissa. _My_ Marissa."

"Well ya know three months ago it wasn't _Your_ Marissa, so much as _Your_ Mary."

Seth had always wondered how Ryan could always take down bigger guys, like Luke even, in one punch. Right then he found out.

* * *

Caitlin sat down next to her sister on the bench in front of the building. She was wondering how things were going for Seth inside. _Probably not good knowing Seth and knowing Ryan. _Marissa had barely pulled on a pair of sweatpants before she and Caitlin were out the door, both happy to leave the room behind them. This was not going to go well on a multitude of levels. But all she could do to help is put her arm around Marissa and watch the tears start to build up behind her eyes. She decided to pull a move out of the Seth Cohen handbook. 

"So I guess I'm not that special anymore, not being the only bearer of _the secret_ anymore. Just when I was feeling good with all my well-developed stealth skills." Marissa laughed over the building tears at her sister's joke. Marissa took her sister's hand and squeezed a little. This summer started out like the worst ever. Ryan left to spend the summer with his daughter and Theresa. Summer broke up with Seth and took an extended vacation in Hawaii before heading east for college. And with the success of her business, Julie was starting to turn from the relative cool person she grew into back into the evil Julie Cooper-Nichol again. But just as she thought it was going to fall apart her heroes stepped up to the plate. Caitlin pretty much gave up on her Johnny-infatuation and pulled a 180 into full sister-who-loved-me-and-doted-over-me mode. Caitlin was the first person to make her feel like the world was, in fact, not going to end. Then there was Seth and their road trip. The Pancake Tour of North America. Or at least up the west coast and east all the way to Pennsylvania, where they ran out of both time and money and made a bee-line home to Newport last week. Marissa had actually been happy and content. Should have known it was too good to last. This would be some great time for some sisterly advise.

"Don't cry okay?"

Marissa half-grunted a reply, "That's the best advise you got?"

Taking a deep breath, Caitlin blew into it. "Alright, here you go… Get Over It! I mean come on Marissa, you can't get this wrapped up over Ryan coming back. That's so stupid. I mean look at your pathetic love life over the past decade. First there was Luke, a relationship so demeaning and destructive, I never even liked you with him, and you barely got out of it alive. And I'm not saying that just because I had the biggest crush on him back then, that's just the facts. Then Ryan. Or at least sort of, I mean where you guys ever a solid couple for more than three weeks at a time, it was this idiot rollercoaster that you barely got off of without jail time. Throw your friendship with Oliver in the mix. I never even met the guy and _I know_ he should be committed. And then more Ryan that ended in disaster. And DJ was nothing but drama, just like all the rest. And then Ryan again, more disaster. And then there was that whole Trey fiasco and yet more Ryan which again ended with you in tears and again nearly in prison. Then there was the surfer punk whose name I don't even mention. Ugh. And we wrap up senior year with more Ryan-based drama."

"You know, counting down my greatest hits might not be the best subject at the moment."

"Greatest hits, Marissa? Please they were the crappy warm-up band. Then Seth stopped by and took us out for pancakes. You were happy. You were apparently so happy you took off for two months to repeat the process. And you came back so couple-y and cute. I honestly don't know how I was the ONLY one who noticed." Caitlin playfully nudged her sister. "I mean have you actually not smiled since that morning he showed up?"

"It has been pretty perfect."

"I told ya. Now just don't let the whole 'And then Ryan…' Thing come up again and you might keep this good streak going. Repeat after me… No More Drama."

"Have you forgotten where we live? No More Drama and the OC don't exactly go together."

"Technically, you live in L.A. now, not Newport. And well, just because I am about to start my first year of OC drama, doesn't mean you can't have everything you always wanted."

"When did you become so wise?"

"Well obviously I take after Mom."

"Obviously," Marissa got out before she and Caitlin began laughing.

In a flash Ryan jogged out the door not even looking over at them. After he stepped into the Range Rover he looked over and saw them. Marissa decided not to be weak anymore. No More Crying. No More Drama. She stood up and faced him, her face resolute. As he reached to turn the key she spoke up, "I'm sorry you feel bad Ryan. I really am and so is Seth. But I'm not sorry for what happened. We didn't do anything wrong and you're a big enough a person to know that's true."

Ryan looked away from her and drove away without a word and even though she felt bad, the hurt of Ryan leaving was something that she got over months ago.

"Way to go, Marissa!" Caitlin said. An infectious smile on her face was spreading to Marissa's. "Come on, let's go see how many pieces he left Seth in."

As Marissa led them back into the apartment, Seth greeted them at the door holding an ice pack over his left cheek. "Seth! Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I decided the best way to defend you would be trying to break Ryan's fist on my face. As a plan it has some faults." Marissa brushed her hand against Seth's soon-to-be bruise before gently kissing it. "And yet there is the bright side," he added.

"I don't suppose you mentioned how we were all coming back to Newport for the day, huh?" Caitlin questioned. Seth and Marissa looked at each other squeamishly. This was going to be there one day to go back to Newport show up at their parents' party as a couple, effectively dropping the bomb on the Newport social elite before taking off for three months at school. Worried they might try and back out, which the were actually both thinking of doing at the moment, Caitlin continued, "Well there's no backing out now guys. I am not spending another night on your ratty couch."

"She's right, Seth. No backing out now."

"Wow, we haven't even gotten to the party and already we made with the violence. There's the Orange County, I remember and loathe."


	3. The Future Now 3

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: If I did own it would I still be living in Cleveland? Probably not.

_**Responses (because you all rule!)**_

_Thekiller00 – yeah marissa did come off kind of harsh, I was just trying to not have weepy marissa, she can get kind of annoying – but she has some nice moments with seth and ryan in this chapter and I have to wonder if I can make the four of them fantastic again. As far as SM the whole way through, I really can't say but for now I am going to see where they take it. I wanted to try something different. Seeing as how there are so many, SS, RM, and SumRyan fics, I aimed for something a little more unique._

_CutieCay22 – thanks, hope you like this chap as well_

_IiI Elise IiI – I really shot for that typical pre-credits moment. Obviously its SM for now, but I understand the gripe. AS far as the show is concerned, I am a HARDCORE SS shipper, and always will be. But I wanted to do something different that we won't have the chance to see on TV. _

_A/N: Hey, I just can't stop writing about this, probably another chapter or two at the most to wrap up this first "episode". And I promise Summer will make a brief appearance before we're done. I hope my devotion to this story is reciprocated and I will try to be more careful with the grammar slips. Please R&R. Also, FYI, my preferred title for this episode was The Secret, but the show already used that one._

**Episode One: The Future Now (Chapter Three)**

A grey Highlander slides across two lanes and onto the exit ramp of the 73, descending towards Newport Beach. Two cars behind it slam on their brakes and horns begin blaring. Sitting behind the wheel, Seth (his left cheek now deeply black-and-blue) races to the green light and swings off the road hooking a right. Beside him Marissa is hanging onto the overhead handle as if her life depends on it, but her face is just a big smile, barely containing a fit of laughter. Caitlin sits behind them and nearly topples over when Seth takes the hard right.

"Geez Seth, drive defensively, for cryin' out loud!" Caitlin yells.

"Hey, first this is a bad time to distract me," he replies. "Second off, I really, really want to get home before Ryan does. I need to smooth things over before we all walk in on the parents. And thirdly, to quote Homer Simpson, 'Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.'"

Marissa turns to Seth and puts her hand on his knee. "Relax, Seth. Breath."

"You know that's really not the thing to do to encourage that kind of behavior," he replied, nodding toward her hand. Then with a grin added, "We'll deal with that later tonight. A couple times maybe."

"You know young, impressionable, innocent children are right here you know," Caitlin inserted, not wanting to be forgotten or left out.

"Excuse me, didn't you used to be _my_ drug dealer."

"Narc."

"You guys know all our parents are probably setting up for the big party. Nobody is even home to hear the news," Marissa said.

* * *

"I swear to God, I am going to kill Julie Cooper," Kirsten said under her breath as Sandy carried a tray of wine glasses into the dining hall. Sandy just grinned and raised his eyebrow. 

"No, I mean it this time," she continued. "Every little thing is getting changed time and again and again. This little 'Singles Night Out' we organized has become the focus of her life. It just isn't healthy. For Me."

Sandy set down the glasses on a large tray a bit harsher than Kirsten would have preferred. "You know Julie, she just gets a bit, over-involved. When she doesn't have distractions she just dives into some project with her considerable might. Which makes you upset, which I gotta say isn't helping me out either."

"If only she and Neil were still going out. At least that could be a distraction," Kirsten mused.

"Or if Marissa hadn't moved out."

"Or if Caitlin hadn't spent the last few days visiting her."

"Well just think about it honey, tonight Julie will be so distracted by Neil and Marissa and Caitlin, she won't even notice you're here."

"Promise?"

"Honey, if all else fails we can send Ryan over to talk to her," Sandy concluded before pulling his wife in for a kiss and good, firm hug. "Of course then there'd be all those questions about child endangerment."

"Kiki!"

Kirsten held close to Sandy for another moment before breaking off to deal with Julie's latest emergency. Sandy meanwhile schlepped back outside to carry in more supplies for Newport's last big summer party. He fondly thought back to the days before he took over the Newport Group and before his wife became the county's official party planner. Outside he saw the ocean in the distance and remembered when he would spend his Saturday surfing while Ryan and Seth would help their mother with the latest in the endless stream of events this city managed to hold. He was quite happy thinking of them spending the morning tomorrow hauling everything back out to the vans while he relaxed for the first time in months. Just like the good, old days.

* * *

As Ryan pulled into the Cohen driveway, he looked up to see Seth skating in the driveway, waiting for him. When he say the mark on his cheek, Ryan felt more than a little twinge of guilt, but then steeled himself. _Stay angry. Stay mad._ As he got out of the car, Seth rolled to a stop a couple feet in front of him. 

"So anyway," Seth began. "Before I stupidly brought your daughter into it, I was trying to explain that Marissa and I started to hang out as friends. We spent a week together as friends. Decided to go on a trip as friends and sampled some of the finest pancakes the western United States has to offer as friends. When things started changing, and in our own defense you weren't around for us to actually discuss any of this with beforehand, it wasn't about being the jerk that you probably think I am. I mean I never pried into what went down with you guys before you left, but… I think there must have been some finality there, or Marissa and I never would have happened. We both know she's better than that."

"You aren't a jerk, but a call would have been nice," Ryan replied.

"We thought about it, but of course that would have hurt the goal of actually getting you to come back here."

"Maybe."

He still wasn't able to look Seth in the eye though. That would mean forgiving him and no way was he doing that. _No way in hell_. He just stood there and let the silence stretch and stretch. Seth was never the type to sit through these silences. Every time, he pulled Ryan out of his brooding with some snappy comment, some inane Seth Cohen babblings and it always worked. Well except that one time Lindsay left town. But for once Seth bit his tongue until he thought of something to say that would make it better between them. But there was another first. Nothing was coming to him.

"Hmm." Seth wasn't sure if Ryan said something or if that was some type of grunt challenging him to a Chino street fight.

"Yeah, the comfortable silences were never something that really worked their way into the Seth-Ryan dichotomy," Seth began.

"Well I like to think I did my part."

"Yes, Ryan you always were the type of guy to make the effort and you were very consistent about it. Consistent. Trustworthy. Reliable. But now that I think about it, I think it's your enormous forgiving streak I always admired the most."

_Damn it_, Ryan thought, now he was smiling. "So, I'm not okay with this," he began. "And I really don't see myself being okay with it or either of you guys for a good long time."

"All I'm asking for is some light at the end of the tunnel here, man." Seth said as he rocked back and forth on the heels of his feet.

"Christ, I can't stay mad at you. Let's just say, we'll work on it. For Sandy and Kirsten if nothing else." Seth's smile was so damn infectious even Ryan can't help smirking. "So who knows—"

"You, us and Caitlin," Seth rattled off. "She had it figured out about 10 minutes after we got back. Everyone else was going to find out at Mom and Julie's little get together tonight."

"Yeah, I was looking for an excuse to skip that actually."

"Come on man, Caitlin needs an escort, it's her first time in years to be tortured by the snootiest of the snoots at one of these things."

"I don't know man…"

"And you can watch Julie Cooper-Nichol's face when she finds out her daughter is dating her grandson."

"Wow, didn't need to picture that." Ryan grimaced as he and Seth started towards the front door. "You guys are really going to do some grand coming out thing?"

"Well, not the coming out some of Newport coughLukecough expected me to have, but yeah. We just want to get past everybody finding out and get back to normal."

"Is it serious? I mean do you think it's going to last?"

"Well it was a good summer even before, you know…, but we have only spent four days together in Newport, so we have another four hours or so before we hit the county-wide limit. By the way, we don't have to like throw down or anything to be cool again because… well FYI you're tougher than me."

"No, Seth. If Mary taught me anything this year it was patience."

"Yeah, my face noticed that. Oh, hey, in case I forgot to say it before, welcome home."

"Thanks, Seth."

A few hours later, Seth stood in front of his bathroom mirror. He was almost finished dressing for the event. Just the tie, footwear and jacket remained, but right now he was more concerned about his face. Besides the damage to his perfect face, he really didn't think he needed to do anything to make himself seem even less impressive when standing next to Marissa Cooper. Not just that, but if his parents saw it there would be questions about what happened when Ryan visited him this morning. And of all the things in the world their relationship needed right now, reliving the fight (or beating as the case may be) wasn't near the top of the list.

Without knocking, Marissa stuck her head in the door. "Hey Seth?"

"Yeah?" Seth nearly stumbled backwards when he saw her. Between the cross-country trip and crashing in their apartment, it had actually been months since he last saw Marissa in all her made-up-to-be-the-envy-of-all-Newport glory. And certainly not since they became a _them_. She stood there in a drop-dead gorgeous knee-length crème dress. She wore her hair down, but it was cut so it now just reached her shoulders. Seth's first thought was to say that she blew his socks off, if, you know, he was wearing any at the time. But sometime over the summer he found he had the miraculous ability to think _before_ words emerged.

"Guh," unfortunately was all that came out. Of course Marissa had an idea what he meant and smiled anyway.

"I brought you something," she said. Only now Seth realized her hands were conspicuously hiding something behind her back.

"Well, I was almost dressed, but hey if the lady needs some Seth, then—"

"In your dreams, Cohen."

"Yes, in fact," he replied. _God, I can't stop smiling when she's around_. "So…"

Marissa moved her hands to reveal a make-up case.

"Any chance there's a Gameboy in there?"

"Nope," Marissa mused, as she skipped over to Seth's bed and sat down. "It's for your face. You know to avoid awkward questions, well more than we plan on getting otherwise."

"I was thinking of breaking out the old Spider-man mask actually," Seth said as he walked over and sat down next to her, brushing his fingers along her arm.

"Well," Marissa began, catching her breath whenever Seth made contact with her. _God, how did he do that_. "As rugged and manly as both the bruise and your mask make you look, I was thinking more along the lines of presentable."

"But I'm a man."

"It's just a little, to hide the bruise. Just think of it as being in a play."

"You're thinking of the wrong Cohen brother," Seth replied. _Damn it_, he thought immediately. He loved talking to Marissa about anything in the world. Except the other half of the FF. Of course then he thought of how Marissa would eventually come to her senses, get back together with Ryan as per usual and leave him alone, again.

"There's only one Cohen brother, I'm thinking about lately, trust me," Marissa replied as she leaned in and began kissing Seth. Still smart enough to take a cue Seth began kissing back and slowly leaned Marissa back onto his bed, moving on to nibbling at her neck. After a couple minutes she worked up the desire to push him away. "Make-up first, sex later."

"Well, that's a deal I can live with!" Seth said hopping and standing on his bed. "Wow," he continued, turning around, "This place is really deserted. No posters, no comics, no computer, no Captain Oats—"

"And in five minutes no Cohen or Cooper, so sit down," Marissa interrupted pulling him down by his belt and opening her make-up case.

Ten minutes later they walked into the living room, hands intertwined. They only separated moments before they came into view of Ryan and Caitlin. Ryan wore a black suit, matching Seth's and Caitlin wore a full length purple dress with her hair done up in a bun.

"Wow, you Cooper girls sure do clean up nice," Seth said.

"Yeah, while you and Ryan were doing whatever it is men do when they apologize for beating the snot out of each other and keeping secrets—"

"We call that bonding Caitlin and it's a very masculine process you wouldn't understand," Seth interrupted.

"Yeah, so while you guys were making out with each other or whatever, we went to a salon, which quite frankly Mrs. Road Trip over there really needed."

"And she looks absolutely fabulous for it," Seth said as he began snaking an arm around Marissa's waist. He jolted to a stop when he caught Ryan's eye and the awkward silence returned.

"Look Ryan," Marissa began. "I'm sorry about the way you found out. Of everyone we wanted to tell you… well you and Sum are the two we really wish we never had to tell. But we should have done it right. Or at least better than we did."

"It's… it's going to take some time," he replied. "But if I gave up on you guys completely, well Seth would be impossible. Well, more so."

"A-ha. And I still thought I was the funny one."

"You really are the only one who thinks that Seth," Caitlin said.

"Wow, you guys all look so great," Kirsten said as she came down the stairs, putting on her right earring. Sandy followed behind her, adding, "Yeah, very nice."

Kirsten took a moment to look at the four of them and smiled. "It is just so great to have all of you here together. I really missed this. The whole family."

"Alright, let's get a move on before Kirsten starts crying and needs to redo her make-up. I'm sure Julie is anxiously waiting for our arrival."

"Wow, Dad, you really need to work on your inspiring speeches."

"Yeah, Sandy," Marissa added. "You're really making an evening of the ninja game sound pretty entertaining."

"That's just silly, 'Ris, ninja games are by their very nature entertaining," Seth replied.

"Alright, alright," Sandy said waving his hands in defeat. "We all know we're not getting out of this. We're going to take the car, you kids all want to follow in the Range Rover?"

And yet another awkward silence settled over them. Then like a line of dominos, Caitlin looked to Marissa, who looked at Seth, who turned to Ryan. "Yeah," the final domino said. "Sounds like a plan."


	4. The Future Now 4

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: Je ne possède pas ceci.

_A/N: So here comes the second to last chapter of episode one. I hope I can keep the momentum going. Just as importantly I want to know if anybody besides me is enjoying this. Please R&R. We have one more chapter after this, and then on to episode two where hopefully we can break away from the Seth, Marissa, Ryan and Caitlin show and incorporate more variety. That means more Sandy/Kirsten, more Julie and of course Caitlin is going to meet new kids going to Harbor alone (I promise they will not be as annoying as Johnny and Chili). Also note the wicked cool formatting changes, pretty sweet, huh? A final note, sorry about the excess of cheese at the end of this chapter. I warn you there will be more next chapter, but I'm a firm believer of ending season openers on upbeat notes._

**Episode One: The Future Now (Chapter Four)**

As the Cohens and Coopers walked out the front door, the sun was setting over the ocean, casting a long expanse of orange sky across the horizon. Seth was thinking back on how the last few years have always been highlighted by some big, life changing events for his small group of friends. Just three years ago, Ryan moved in and he had his first real friend, a brother. His life has never been close to the same after that. Days later, the girl who lived next door, who hadn't said a dozen words to him since they were seven, became his second friend. And whatever he said about her before, he admitted almost from the beginning that she had far better taste in music than Ryan. And that brought Summer into his world and started the most interesting year of his life. The next year, when he and Ryan both got out of the three-month funk and returned to Newport, he had already been working on plans and ideas for getting the whole group together to rekindle the spark from that first year. He never mentioned it to anyone, even Summer, but the problems junior year had him doubting if things would ever be okay between any of them again. There were dozens of almosts and maybes that kept them apart for a good, long time. Last year was great though; Marissa didn't end up in jail, depending on your definition of public school. And his entire group was happy and together, in the pairs they all thought had survived the worst and were permanent now. This year was different on so many levels. He is finally out of Newport (well not at the moment, but in 24 hours – _FREEDOM!_). This was the first time he was going to start a school year on the outs with Ryan. Agreeing to sit in the same vehicle together wasn't exactly their most unified moment. As Caitlin got in the front passenger seat, Seth realized this definitely wasn't the same fantastic four. Besides the changes in the Seth-Marissa-Ryan dynamic, Caitlin Cooper was definitely no Summer. They may both have somewhat aggressive personalities, but there was this subtlety to Caitlin: like taking the front seat so he and Marissa can sit together without making a conscious, disruptive decision to do so, they just it because those are the only seats left. And though she was many things, Summer had never been a subtle person. And as he took her hand and help her in he thought about Marissa. There was something there so completely different here than what he had with Summer. He was not sure if it was the fact that they were away from Newport, spending so much time together out in the real world, going to college together, or the fact that they were living together, _although we actually have to unpack for that to count_, or maybe despite the years of continuous upheaval between him and Summer and her and Ryan and all the many more significant others mixed in, the two of them have been friends for three years now.

As Seth continued to his run-on thoughts about Marissa, Ryan started up the SUV and thought _what the hell am I doing_. The plans of picking things up with Seth and patching things up with Marissa were definitely thrown out the window. He really didn't want to hang out with either of them right now, but here he was, driving them to a Newport formal dance (speaking of things he didn't want to do) where apparently they were going to announce their love to the world. He still wasn't exactly clear on all the details of how they were going to announce it. _Of course, this is Seth Cohen_. He could just ask them what they had planned. But that would involve talking to them and Ryan wasn't ready for an all out conversation with them. He finds himself checking the rearview mirror every few seconds, wondering what they were doing. They weren't talking that's for sure, but hearing no smart-a$$ comments coming out of Seth's mouth for five minutes was almost as discomforting. Their eyes were bouncing back and forth like Ping-Pong balls between his back and each other. For a minute he though maybe they were communicating through some morse-code or nonverbal—

"Ryan!" Caitlin yelled as Ryan slammed on the brakes. The range rover skidded to a halt just a few inches from rear-ending Sandy and Kirsten's car. Caitlin released her grip on the overhead handlebar, which she referred to as the Oh-Shit-Bar, and decided to do something before these three idiots killed her. And it would be a shame if that happened before she even got to experience the socially crippling first week at Harbor. "Um, Seth, trade spots with me, I need to talk to Marissa."

"Sure," Seth said stepping out of the SUV and trading places with Caitlin. He waved at his parents as he got back in the front seat. "Two miles to the gallon, air conditioner on the fritz, brakes are shit, but you can't argue with this legroom."

"Beats Yakama," Marissa adds.

"What's Yakama?" Caitlin asks.

Marissa is about to explain when Seth cuts her off, turning around to look at her, "No, no,no. Can't you bring up any story where I don't make a fool of myself?"

"I don't think any of us can work miracles like that," Marissa replies. Seth nods at her to continue and faces forward burying his hand in his face. She begins, "Well we had just spent three days in Portland with Luke and his Dad, it was just after the Fourth of July. We started out of the eastern leg of the big trip. Of course, an hour into it Seth convinces me to head north to Seattle."

"I just thought the Experience Music Project would be cool."

"It was. So, anyway, we cut north onto Route 97, which will take us north to 82, 90 and back west to Seattle. The road cuts through the Yakama Indian Reservation for 50 miles. We broke down about 20 miles in and somebody decided not to bring our cell phones."

"Excuse me," Seth interjected. "Kerouac didn't bring his cell with him. And I don't remember you raising any objections when I brought up the idea."

"It's true, Marissa," Caitlin added. "I believe your exact words were _'sounds like a real adventure.'_"'

"Quiet, traitor. Eventually this incredibly sweet woman, Sally Littlefeather, pulls up in this jeep and offers to put us up for the night and have her brother fix the van the next day. She was actually really nice. She told us these amazing stories about her being a nurse during the Korean War."

"She actually had a great sense of humor," Seth chirped in. "She would have fit right in with the 4077 on MASH."

"Are we to the point where we can laugh at Seth yet?" Caitlin asks.

"Look, I'm sure Ryan doesn't want to hear anything about the Great Pancake Tour, least of all the parts where through no fault of my own something embarrassing happens."

Everyone sits a moment in silence, thinking about how Ryan really doesn't want to hear about Seth and Marissa's summer adventure. _Especially the things that happened in Seattle_, Marissa thinks. Even a couple years ago, Ryan would have been perfectly content to sit the rest of the ride in complete silence and then spend the next day avoiding all of them like the plague. Now according to the annoying voice in the back of his head, the one he liked to call Seth, he wasn't willing to shut the door on his two best friends. "Well," he began slowly, "As long as it's embarrassing for Seth, I suppose we could hear about it."

"Thanks for the back up, man," Seth whined.

"Well the next morning while Steven, that was her brother, is fixing the Highlander, Sally decides to take Seth and I for a horse ride and some fishing."

"Seth rode a horse!" Caitlin practically screamed.

"Well at least until it threw him into the Columbia River," Marissa added before everyone in the car, even Ryan started laughing. "And the best part is he thought it was _'thrilling'_. He fell in love with the outdoors. After Seattle, he decided to spend a weekend hiking and camping around Mount Ranier and then again in Yellowstone."

"You went camping?" Ryan asked. "Like outside?"

"You know Marissa, I could bring up a couple stories about Pittsburgh," Seth said with a lilt to his voice."

"Shut up Seth," Marissa said with a smile.

"What happened in Pittsburgh?"

"Nothing Cait," Marissa quickly inserted. "We ran out of time, drove across the country in just under three days and got home four days ago just as we ran out of money."

"Only to quickly find out I had a $400 pull list piled up at the comic shop," Seth mused.

"So you really aren't going to tell us?"

"No! Yes!" Marissa and Seth said at the same time.

Seth leaned towards Caitlin and mouthed _I'll tell you later_ to which Marissa lightly slapped him on the top of the head.

"Ow," Seth exaggerated. "What's with all of my friends today? If I wanted to relive the pain of freshman year, I would go visit Luke again."

"We're here," Ryan announced, pulling into the driveway and stopping at the valet station.

* * *

By the time they entered the ballroom where the party was being held, a large crowd had already filled much of the room. At the far right of the horizontal room a DJ was set-up next to a small stage with a microphone. In front of the DJ and stage was a sizable dance floor and beyond and to either side of that were tall, thin tables set-up to accommodate small groups of up to four people. Various waiters and waitresses ran around the crowd with the typical appetizers of a Newport Party, although the main item on the menu, as usual, was liquor. Ryan and Seth each felt a bit for Sandy who, in their absence, probably ended up hauling most of those bottles and glasses around this morning. Ryan and Caitlin both noticed Seth and Marissa scanning the ballroom. All of the standard-bearers of the Newport community were in attendance. Julie stood with groups of Newpsies near the stage. Since she became their best chance to land a second (or in some cases third or fourth) husband, Julie had found herself significantly more accepted by her former peers. It didn't particularly thrill Marissa or Caitlin, but at least she was feigning some degree of happiness. Seth bumped Marissa and pointed to the opposite edge of the room, where Dr. Roberts was speaking with some men they recognized from the local hospital: more doctors. Kirsten and Sandy began winding their way through the crowd towards Julie and the stage, as Sandy called back to them, "Into the lion's den, you kids stay safe and behave." 

"Well, I don't know about you Cait, but I have a wicked craving for some cheese cubes," Marissa said, motioning towards a nearby table overflowing with platters of food.

"Cool."

"We'll find a table," Seth offered, calling after them, "Just grab some swiss and cheddar for me."

Ryan and Seth walked off towards the left of the dance floor and found an open table near the back of the room. "Yep," Seth began. "Out of the way, clear path to the exits and the food: definitely a Seth-Ryan table."

After a moment, Ryan looked over to him and said, "Look, whenever you are going to do, whatever it is your going to do, I don't really want to be around, so just let me—"

He was interrupted by the sound of Julie tapping the microphone to get everybody's attention. The room quieted down and looked towards her and Kirsten on the stage, both putting on happy faces for their clients.

"She can still make everyone in a room feel like a bad fifth-grader," Ryan whispered.

"Some things, Little Grasshopper, are as constant as the tides."

"Hello everyone," Julie began. "Kirsten and myself would both like to welcome you to the Newport Club's final event of the summer."

Kirsten continued for her, "When we agreed to organize this event, Julie and I both knew that we wanted to try something different. Something to make all of us feel a bit special. Now in a few moments the music will begin, but there are a few rules."

"Yes, first and most importantly, all dancing is by request only, but all requests must be made publicly."

"We are going to ask that any of you that wish to dance come up here on stage, introduce yourself, the lady or gentleman you would like to dance with and tell us all why."

"Secondly," Julie said. "The first rule also applies to cutting in."

"Basically, you won't be allowed on the dance floor without first announcing yourselves."

"But we aren't just a couple of cruel women out to embarrass you. If you should find that someone special, you are allowed to remain on the dance floor as long as you like and return whenever you like, but only with the same partner."

"That's correct if you would like to dance with someone else you have to come up here and tell us why all over again. Although, I advise you skip over why that person wasn't your first choice," Kirsten concluded, getting a slight laugh from the crowd.

"So with that out of the way," Julie stated matter of factly. She paused for more than a moment looking in Neil Robert's direction. She caught her breath and coughed when Kirsten prodded her with her elbow. "Who would like to begin?"

As the DJ began playing a slow, formal dance, the crowd hesitated before a line began to form. It was mostly made of younger boys that Marissa recognized as a year or two behind her at Harbor. As she looked down from the stage and began putting some cheese cubes and other finger foods on a couple small plates, she looked to her sister at her side, doing the same thing.

"For Ryan," Caitlin said, explaining her second plate. "Don't want to make him feel isolated. Well, more isolated."

"If nothing else, this whole day has taught me that we need to be careful about how people find out about us."

"And by people, you mean Ryan and Summer."

"Well there really isn't a good way to break it to Mom. And Sandy and Kirsten will be fine, as long as we try hard to stay considerate of Ryan. But with Sum's dad here, I figure we should give her a call tonight and talk to her about it, before somebody else does."

"Yeah, _maybe_ you should have done that with Ryan."

"I think _definitely_ is the phrase, you're looking for. We just kept pushing it off and pushing it off and then he was there. And by there I'm not talking in the abstract. I mean he was in our living room. We messed it up once, I just don't want to again, hence a late-night gab session with Sum tonight."

"Well," Caitlin said, dragging the word. "You might want to make that call right after the party. See over there? Taylor's mom is in attendance, which mean a half-hour after she leaves Taylor will know, which means ten minutes later she will be at Summer's dorm room letting her in on the news."

"Well you certainly have your finger on the pulse of Newport's seedy gossip underbelly."

"Excuse me, Miss Romantic Odyssey, but I spent the last couple months here. Alone. In a house with Julie Cooper-Nichol. Of course all of this is assuming Mrs. Townsend doesn't end up wasted stumbling home with a random male Newpsie. Which currently I'm giving 5-1 odds on, but if you want to make some money I advise putting a 50 spot on Mr. Savage fondling a woman who isn't Mrs. Savage."

"What are you the local gambling connection?" Marissa questioned, nudging her sister away from the food trays and towards where Seth and Ryan were sitting.

"Well, since Loverboy convinced me to give up my other form of income, I decided to make-up for it by cornering the Newport gambling market: at least for teenagers with too much time and money on their hands. And believe me, rich kids will bet on anything. I plan on making a nice little profit Monday morning."

"My sister the Mafioso, just wait until after freshman orientation to start rigging the sporting events."

"I make no promises," Caitlin concluded, her head held high as she sat next to Ryan. Marissa gave Seth his plate before sitting down next to him. The table became deathly silent as Ryan concentrated very intently on his small plate of cheese, picking at various pieces. When he did nod his head up, he just saw them sitting next to one another. It was finally Seth that took the initiative. After fiddling with Marissa's hand under the table nervously for a few minutes, he gave it a slight squeeze and stood up.

"Well better get this over with."

"Nice Mr. Romance!" Caitlin almost stood up as she said.

"Well," he replied wit a patented Seth grin. "I meant before some high school senior with a three-year-old crush beats me to the punch for the best girl in the room."

"That's better!" Caitlin yelled. As she sat down Marissa was blushing and Ryan looked down at his cheese plate with the same near-sullen expression he had worn for the last several minutes. After the three of them continued their silent observance for five more minutes as the now long line made its way along. As Seth stepped up on stage, Ryan pushed his plate away. Marissa and Caitlin both looked at him. His face screamed, _I can't do this! I can't watch this!_, but he didn't say a word as he got up and made a beeline for the exit.

"Hi, everybody, Seth Cohen here," Seth began as he stood on stage, covering his eyes for a moment while they adjusted to the spotlight. " I'm here, about to make a fool of myself, as usual, but once again as usual it's for a beautiful, wonderful girl. A girl that I love with all my heart."

As he looked towards the table, Seth wanted to see two friends and the woman he loved. He saw two faces etched with worry and concern. His eyes flashed towards the door Ryan had almost reached and then back to Marissa. In less than two instants, he knew what he had to do.

"My Mom!" Seth pretty much screamed, bringing an immediate smile to Marissa and Caitlin's faces and stopping Ryan in his tracks. The entire room that had only politely paid a slight bit of attention nearly froze in its tracks to stare at the razing lunatic on stage. Throughout the room, barely audible digs and insults came from the jocks and Newpsies that Seth had learned to tune out long ago. Waving Kirsten towards him, he continued. "Mom, you want to come up here. See Kirsten Cohen didn't just throw a, _and I think we can all agree on this_, wicked cool party tonight."

As Kirsten stepped on stage, Seth near violently there his arm around her and pulled her next to him. "See she loved me even before my Jew-fro grew in. And she and Dad raised me and did a great job keeping me grounded and normal-ish. She made sure I cared about the important things in life and that family, her, Dad and Ryan, were all the most important and involved people in my life; even my **_grandmother_**-in-law, Julie Cooper-Nichol."

Marissa and Caitlin started giggling as their mother's face turned a shade whiter. Even Ryan smirked and Sandy had to stifle a laugh. Seth started staring at Marissa as he concluded. "So I'm sure that someday I'll end up at one of her parties with the love my life on my arm. But until then I'm proud to stand by my Mom, whom I love."

As Seth led his Mom off of the stage and onto the dance floor, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "Seth, that was very sweet. You really made this a great night for me. Best Newport party ever, in fact. I'm sorry if you got a little embarrassed though."

"Well you're the one crying, so I hope I didn't embarrass you," he replied. Then looking over her shoulder at Ryan and Sandy added, "Nothing as important as showing your family how much you care."


	5. The Future Now 5

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: Ich besitze dies nicht

_Replies:_

_Princess Sparkle: Glad you like it so far. Who knows, keep reading and maybe we'll see some Summer. Hint hint._

_Kellocfan: Thanks for the positive response. I recently read your SM story (A New Life – everyone check it out!) and look forward to your next update as well._

_A/N: at the end of this chapter._

**Episode One: The Future Now (Chapter Five)**

As Seth and Kirsten continued their dance, flying cheese cubes from the direction of the Cooper sisters quickly silenced the few snickering teenage boys. While Caitlin and Marissa smiled and whispered back and forth, Ryan worked his way over towards Sandy, who was standing just off to the left of the dance floor with a huge grin on his face. Before he spoke, Ryan thought back to last time Sandy, Kirsten and Seth and himself were all together. It was a couple of nights before he left for Atlanta, just after the last day of finals. He remembered Seth saying something about outlawing talk about the future and not allowing them to do anything special. They ended up sitting around the living room, eating Chinese leftovers. He smiled thinking of Sandy pinning Kirsten down to stop her from putting The Joy Luck Club on and how Seth nearly killed himself racing upstairs to get a copy of Rocky III and getting it back to the DVD player before Kirsten escaped. By the time the credits were running on Nighthawks several hours later, the others were passed out where they were sitting. Sandy and Kirsten were lying on the couch holding each other. Seth was passed out on the floor, drooling on a seat cushion he was using as a pillow. Rather than heading out to the pool house, he leaned back on the base of the chair he was sitting against and faded to black.

"Some shindig," he said coming up next to Sandy.

"Yeah, Julie and Kirsten sure know how to make high society a little more sociable. So, where you in on Seth's little stunt? He really showed up my unprepared comments."

Grinning, Ryan replied, "I don't think any of us can really _expect_ what Seth is going to do next at any giving moment."

As they look on, Kirsten is laughing, but can't seem to stop tearing up. Every so often she just stops dancing and gives Seth a hug. Sandy grabs Ryan's shoulder, saying, "I think I'm going to get in line. If we don't get her away from Seth soon the poor boy is going to drown."

As he starts to walk away, Sandy spins around, "Oh, hey, I never got to ask how things have been going with Marissa. Is there any chance of you guys mending some fences? She seems to be having a good time. You know, she and Seth are just going to school a half-hour drive away from you."

"It isn't looking good, but after tonight, I'm starting to think maybe we can go back to being friends."

"As Seth once said, 'When were you and Marissa Cooper ever friends?'"

"Maybe we can be," Ryan replied without too much conviction in his voice.

"Right. Well, keep your chin up."

As Sandy went to the line to reclaim his wife, Ryan headed back to their table in the back of the room. He noticed Caitlin whispering into Marissa's ear as they both tried to hold in their giggle-fits. His latest attempt to harden his heart was pretty much taken apart when he got a flash of the Marissa Cooper full-on-smile. She waved for him to hurry the rest of the way back to the table, saying, "So, you decided you couldn't tear yourself away, huh?"

Ryan smiled, saying, "Well, Seth so rarely makes a scene, I figured I should take in the chance to see him at his best. So what are you talking about over here?"

"The many admirable traits about the Cohen men," Marissa replied. "All three of them."

Even after everything that had happened today, at the end of the day Ryan still found himself thinking of how he could make things better with Marissa. _What if they weren't meant to just be friends? _ Despite his best efforts to try and convince himself otherwise, he couldn't completely fool himself into thinking he was the Cohen man she and Caitlin had been talking about a minute ago. Ryan began to think he was getting used to the idea of Seth and Marissa as a couple. Not to say it still didn't piss him off a bit. If for no other reason, when he was looking at her, he thought about the two of them and their big moment. The one Seth just threw away for no other reason than to not make him feel worse. Which granted he felt he was owed, but it was still nice.

Seth had managed to surprise him, throwing what he wanted for himself onto the backburner. But what was happening right in front of him now, well that was expected. Something going wrong for Marissa Cooper, only to have her smiling away because somebody else is feeling better. She actually kind of reminded him of somebody else. _Damn it_.

"Well," Caitlin said as she stood up. "I'm pretty much completely parched here. Drinks?"

Ryan shook his head and Marissa asked for some punch. Raising an eyebrow, Ryan asked, "Just punch?"

Marissa looked at him a moment before she comprehended where he was going.

"No," she answered. "Before we left, Seth and I made a deal. No more pot. No more alcohol. I believe he used the phrase, 'Our bodies are our temples.'"

"Serious?"

"Ten weeks, three days without a drink. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment on my part, especially considering that after you left, I had more than a few." After a moment, she continued, "So I hear your smoking again."

"Yeah, not so much thinking of myself as a temple."

"Well stop," Marissa shot back. "If not to stay alive for your daughter, then at least so my sister doesn't get grossed out when she gets that kiss at the end of night she is hoping for. But no tongue, she's still a kid. I'm thinking something on the cheek. This really is her first grown-up Newport function. She hasn't learned to fear them yet like we have."

Ryan just looked dumbfounded for a minute as he stared at Marissa the Big Sister. Then smiling he leaned forward and quietly responded, "Yeah don't want to turn her off guys altogether. It's never fun when the Cooper women get experimental. Although Seth always seemed fascinated by you and Ale—"

Slapping Ryan's arm, Marissa said, "Well Seth can be a smartass sometimes. There's no need for you to be just like him. That would just be… confusing."

Looking over at the stage, he saw Sandy next in line to make a fool of himself. Looking back at Marissa he soaked in her eyes for a second, and then said, "Yeah, I could probably be a little more like him without it being so bad."

Before Marissa could respond Ryan took off for the stage, nearly knocking Julie Cooper to the ground. Briefly turning back with half an apology he kept moving towards the stage as the current song ended and Sandy began to introduce himself to a group of people that had known him for years. Leaping onto the stage, he grabbed Sandy by the shoulder and grabbed the microphone.

"I promise you can have the next one Sandy," he said. Looking out into the crowd, he half mumbled his introduction and request. "Yeah, um, I'm Ryan and..uh, yeah. So, I just need to – kind of. I need to cut in there."

Pointing at Seth and Kirsten, he hopped off the stage and walked towards them. As he came up to them Kirsten grabbed the both of them in a big hugs. "Both you boys, just… This is so wonderful. I love you both, so much. It's just… just, well wonderful to have you two together again."

"Hey man," Ryan started saying as Kirsten released them. "I think Marissa could use a ride. Caitlin and I can get a ride home with Sandy and Kirsten. That okay, Kirsten?"

"Sure," she replied. She kissed Seth on his left cheek and told him to drive safely while a couple more introductions finished up and the next dance began. As he backed off the dance floor, Seth looked down into his hand, seeing the valet receipt for the Range Rover that Ryan had slipped into his hand. Smiling at Ryan, he tipped his imaginary hat and walked towards Marissa, picking up his pace as he went along. Stopping at the table he took the cup of punch out of Marissa's hand and gulped it down. He smiled at told Caitlin, "So Ryan and you are getting a ride home with Mom and Dad. We're supposed to get going now."

Smiling Marissa took his hand and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

"Well, get going kids," Caitlin said, pushing them away from the table. "I'll make sure Julie is none the wiser."

Once they walk through the door, Seth takes off at a run, dragging Marissa down the hall and out the front door, laughing behind him. When they come out the front door none of the valets are at their stations, maybe thinking the party would last a couple more hours. There was a heavy rain coming down, nearly flooding the parking lot. Seth couldn't remember a rain this bad in Orange County in the last couple of years. Kissing her on the forehead, Seth continued dragging Melissa towards the valet station where he dropped the slip of paper and dug out his key.

"Ready?" he asked. Without a response, Marissa took off ahead of him out from under the overhang and into the rain. Racing across the parking lot, they were drenched to the bone by the time they found the range rover. Marissa went to her door and tried to open it, but it remained locked.

"Seth!" she screamed over the rain. "What's the matter?"

"I just realized we never got the chance to have our big romantic dance."

Walking around and intertwining their fingers, Marissa rubbed his cheek, streaking the make-up that was covering his bruise. "It's a little wet and your make-up is running."

"So is yours," Seth said as he took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders. "But humor me, 'Ris."

Marissa glared at his with a raised eyebrow and Seth continued, "Yeah, that nickname really isn't working out for me either. Any chance I can get a change of heart about calling you 'Coop'? 'Cooper' even?"

"Let's say that I'll take it under advisement."

Walking in front of the Range Rover, Seth took her in his arms and began swaying back and forth. After a couple minutes Marissa looked at him soaked to the bones and stuck to her, she grabbed his chin and made him look her in the eyes, "Just so I'm clear what song is playing in your head right now, Seth?"

"Our song, of course," he answered before kissing her.

"Good."

* * *

The next morning, Seth woke up and started trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. In between thoughts of coffee and bagels and pancakes, he smiled and started rubbing Marissa's head. He spent the next few minutes debating whether or not to wake her. They were in what Seth had identified as one of their three main sleeping positions. He lay on his back, Marissa on her side squeezed under his right arm, using his chest as a pillow. While her left arm snaked underneath his right arm with her hand limp below his neck, her right draped over his other shoulder and her right leg was nudged between his. It was their second most tangled up sleeping position. He really did enjoy it, even if they both did wake up with cricks in their necks. Of course, he did need some caffeine and the fact that they were still wearing their dress clothes wasn't exactly comfortable. _Did I leave my shoes on?_ Despite his better judgment, Seth decided to face the day, smoothly sliding out the left side of the bed and making his way into his bathroom. 

Before he finished brushing teeth, he heard Marissa waking up. Already changed into sweats and a t-shirt, Seth stepped back into the bedroom. He returned the smile she offered, continued scrubbing his teeth and spoke up, "Hur hwake."

"I missed you," Marissa groaned, stretching her arms over her head and rolling over burying her head in the pillow. By the time Seth finished gargling his mouthwash; she lifted her head up and spoke again. "Coffee?"

"For that, you have to face the gambit of my parent's kitchen," Seth responded.

"No chance of you bringing some up to me?" Grinning she added, "I'll make it worth your while."

"No chance," Seth decided as Marissa dropped her head back into the pillows. "If I thought you could go a week without a little Seth—"

"Please stop using your name to describe sex."

"Alright, without _sweet, sweet loving?_"

"No, but a step in the right direction."

"Either way, that threat would carry more weight. Myself, I'm in a baking mood this morning. I'll see you down there."

"Are you expecting me to wear my formalwear?"

"I still have some shirts and sweats in the closet," he said. Before walking out and closing the door behind him, he added, "Ignore anything still moving."

* * *

Ryan was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for the coffee to be ready when Seth wandered in. Without any greeting, he asked the eternal morning question in the Cohen household, "Coffee?" 

"Almost ready," Ryan answered. Watching Seth grab a bagel and the canister of cream cheese, it wasn't too hard to imagine the last couple years not having happened. Almost every morning with Seth was like the first. "So you still drink coffee? What happened to your body being a temple?"

"There are some sacrifices even Buddha would never ask of us, Ryan. If coffee, bagels, pancakes, comics, Death Cab, or any friends or family are against the tenements of any religion, then I will happily jump on the atheism bandwagon."

As he begins eating the bottom half of his bagel, Seth heads over to the cabinets and pulls out a box of pancake mix and a large bowl. He grabs his remaining ingredients from the refrigerator and tosses Ryan a stick of butter, saying, "Lend a hand. Heat up a frying pan and grease her up."

Seth began quickly throwing the mix together as Ryan started the oven. "So you make your own pancakes now?"

"Nine-and-a-half weeks, 13 states, a combined total of pancakes ordered well into the triple digits, Ryan. I picked up a few skills."

Marissa came downstairs wearing similar non-descript sweats as Seth, still drying her hair with a towel. After a few awkward hellos were exchanged, she sat in the seat Seth had occupied a couple minutes ago and grabbed the nearby newspaper. After flipping through a few pages, she found a story that caught her interest and began reading. Walking over to pour the first pancake, Seth stops in his tracks and sees Marissa eating the rest of his bagel, "Oh hey, flag on the field!"

"You're making pancakes," she replied.

"Yes, for everyone. This is something I should be rewarded for, not punished. Am I right? Ryan?"

"I have no opinion on the matter what-so-ever," he answered, leaving Seth to the pancakes and poured three cups of coffee.

"Well, how did you know it wasn't Ryan's?"

"I went with the instincts that said you weren't reading Building Design and Construction," Marissa responded, pointing at the magazine next to Ryan's plate.

"She is very wise, Seth," Ryan added with a smirk.

Several minutes later, Sandy and Kirsten pulled on their robes and came down to the kitchen. Ryan was setting plates and silverware at the dining room table while Marissa and Seth were working side by side on the stove, whispering back and forth. Ryan was the first to notice the Cohens, sleepily stumbling into the kitchen and alerted the other with an indirect cough.

"Morning, Mom, Dad," Seth greeted them, turning his head over his shoulder to gauge their response from seeing Marissa visiting for breakfast, in his clothes. They clearly weren't expecting to see her, but it wasn't that unusual for her to be in their house for breakfast. Sandy was the first to notice what she was wearing and his eyebrows poked upwards working it out through his sleep-addled mind.

"Hi, Sandy, Kirsten, I hope you don't mind having me here for breakfast," Marissa attempted to explain. As Seth elbowed her slightly for her half-truth, she continued, "If you want to grab some coffee the food is just about ready."

Forgetting Marissa for a moment at the mention of coffee, Kirsten headed towards the pot, only to be cut off by Ryan, "I got that, you guys sit down."

Even if curiosity was starting to get the better of him, Sandy began nudging Kirsten over the table where they sat down in the two nearest seats. Moments later, Ryan slid two cups of coffee in front of them that they graciously accepted and began sipping. As if on cue, Seth set two plates towering with pancakes in the middle of the table and Marissa came over with a bowl of scrambled eggs and slid around to the other side of the table, sitting opposite the Cohens. Seth grabbed two cups of coffee and sat next to her, followed closely by Ryan, who sat on Marissa's left. For a moment all five sat silently looking over the meal.

Finally, it was Sandy that spoke up, "Nice breakfast… wow. So what did you do?"

"Sandy, maybe they're just being…" Kirsten began. She then looked pointedly at the large blue mark on Seth's face. "What did you do?"

"Made pancakes and eggs," Seth answered sheepishly.

"And coffee," Ryan added.

"Seth Ezekiel?" Kirsten snapped, raising her voice.

"Oh, the dreaded middle name," Seth snipped. After a brief pause he looked over at his compatriots for a moment, then back to his mother and continued. "This is, well besides a great, delicious breakfast, it's actually a bribe. It's our attempt to soften some news. This summer, a couple of weeks into the Pancake Tour, Marissa and I-" he paused taking her hand. "We decided to be more than just friends."

As a deep pause settled over the table, Sandy and Kirsten stared and Seth, taking brief glances at Marissa and Ryan. Leaning forward, Seth added, "That's all."

"Oh, Thank God," Sandy added. "So you aren't pregnant or anything like that?"

"God NO!" they both yelled together. Ryan chocked a bit on his coffee at the comment.

Looking significantly calmer than the boys on either side of her, Marissa explained, "Seth and I are just a couple. That's the complete totality of news we have."

"So explain your face Seth?" Sandy questioned with authority to his tone.

"Um, yeah, that one's actually my fault," Ryan offered. "I probably could have taken the news better."

"It's fine," Seth quickly interjected. "We probably should have told Ryan sooner and we definitely could have found a better way. We've both admitted I made some mistakes there, but we're handling it now."

"Are you going to be okay with this?" Sandy asked looking at Ryan.

"We're working on it," Ryan said, trying to be as honest as possible. "I mean I think with time we can all get past it. In all that's happened so far, nothing the last three years has broken us up for long."

At that last comment Marissa turned at looked at Ryan. Seeing her face, he clarified, "I was talking about me and Seth. Not that we can't be '_friends'_. It'll be something new."

"Now, not that reliving fights with Ryan and discussing my love life with my parents isn't just a ball," Seth said. "But allow me to point out: breakfast."

Seth slid a couple of pancakes onto his plates. Kirsten placed a couple spoonfuls of eggs on her plate and everyone slowly and tentatively began filling their plates. Looking up from his meal after a minute, Seth abhorred the silence, but accepted it would take some time for his family to get back to their normal routine with one another. He just hoped things would be better by the time they came home for Thanksgiving. Seth made a silent promise to visit Ryan often and make the new Seth-Marissa-Ryan dynamic work before the holidays. Just because it was just the three of them now and although they had couple of tough days was no reason they can't be fantastic again.

The first attempt at conversation came from Sandy, "So no more surprises today, alright?"

"Definitely," Seth responded. "We're just going to take it easy, help Ryan move into his dorm and than head back to our place for classes tomorrow."

Sandy and Kirsten exclaimed, "You're living together?"

"Yeah, um," Seth replied. "The thing about that is... um... see... Ryan's smoking again."

* * *

Seth and Marissa sat quietly on the couch holding hands as Sandy and Ryan carried the last boxes of his things outside. Marissa held her cell phone open. A picture of Summer graced the screen, but she couldn't quite work her way to pushing the send button. Looking at Seth, she questioned, "Are you sure we're ready to do this?" 

"No," Seth quickly said. "But she's your best friend and I'm her ex-boyfriend. We were stupid not telling Ryan and we've been stupid not telling Summer. We owe it to her to not let her find out through some grapevine. And we owe my face to not let her find out like Ryan did."

Squeezing his hand Marissa pushed the send button and held the phone to her right ear and Seth leaned in so he could listen and talk as well. After a couple of rings a familiar voice answered, "Coop!"

"Hey, Sum. How was Hawaii?"

"Oh it was so great. The little vacation in the sun was just what I needed to get over what's-his-name. I'm so sorry we didn't talk more this summer though. Caitlin said you took some road trip. You didn't get all grungy did you? You know, following some band around."

"No, nothing like that. Just redefining and adjusting priorities in life before college."

"I so agree, but really Providence isn't so different from Newport, except, well no beach."

"Well, it is just the start of September, we'll see what you say about it in three months."

"It's cool, my dad got me this sweet leather jacket I would never have had a chance to wear in SoCal. So, out with it, has Ryan come back yet? How goes that drama?"

"Actually, I'm over at the Cohens' now, we're all helping move Ryan move to his dorm. But we're trying to cut down on the drama."

"You're there now? Cohen isn't all locked in his room listening to Grateful Dead is he?

Smiling as Seth threw out an over-the-top exasperated face, Marissa took a deep breath and took the plunge, "Actually Sum, Seth is right here too. We need to talk."

Marissa starts to explain the situation to her friend, hoping things will work out. A brief look down at Seth's hand holding hers reminds her that no matter what, neither of them are alone in this. She hoped Ryan and Summer didn't feel alone either. But even before she announced the big news to Summer, she looked at Seth and smiled. They would find a way to work it out together. A way to work it out for everybody. No matter what it took, they would be fantastic again.

End of The Future Now

_A/N: Hoped you liked the first episode. Sorry for so little Summer, but she'll be back again soon. I had written another version with the entire conversation, but there was just no good, easy way to wrap up the episode afterwards. I figured getting to that point, making things at least a bit better with Ryan, letting Sandy and Kirsten know and working up the courage to tell Summer was a good arch for SM to go through. And this is a nice, fade up the music before fade to black and credits moment. FYI – I have a couple of choices, but would love to hear opinions on what Seth and Marissa's song should be. Any ideas? Anyways, as always R&R and I hope to have the prologue for the next episode up soon. Expect things to be a little more spread out now and a few familiar faces to return… i.e. not as much of the SM. For those of you hoping these two don't last, you never know, I really only have planned it out as far as the Chrismukkah episode so we'll see where it goes._


	6. The Brave New World 1

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: Still no owning of any of this for me

_A/N: Jumping into the next "episode"._

**Episode Two: The Brave New World (Chapter Six)**

It was early Monday morning when Julie Cooper-Nichol paced through her modest living room, nervously smoothing out some wrinkles in her pants-suit. It looked neat and new, but she was convinced anyone in Newport would immediately think she bought it at ValueCity, which she had in fact done. Over her cordless phone, she was speaking to Kirsten about their plans for the day.

"So I'll just meet up with you after I drop Caitlin off at Harbor, Kiki. The we meet the realtor at nine."

"I know Julie, but I'm still not sure if we're ready for this step," Kirsten replied, sipping a cup of coffee in her kitchen.

"Please Kirsten, I can not have this conversation again. We run one of the most successful social organization and dating services in the history of Newport. And the fact that we are still running it out of your house makes it seem so—"

"Simple?"

"Hookerish," Julie finished. "Look I mean it; we are not discussing this anymore. We are getting our own offices and that's the end of it. Now I apparently have to push Caitlin out the door, so I really don't have time to circle the wagons on this issue. Nine o'clock, at the realtor and don't you dare be late."

"Alright Jul—"

Walking to the staircase, Julie set the phone in its cradle and called for Caitlin. Upstairs the younger Cooper daughter sat in front of her mirror rolling her hair in her fingers. She picked up her schedule for the fifth time that morning and closed her eyes, trying to recite it under her breath from memory.

"Relax Cooper," she told herself. "It's only high school. It's only high school in Newport. It's only high school in Newport where everyone is going to remember and compare you to Marissa. God, let me meet at least one cool person who doesn't hate me."

After a moment she recited, "This is going to be fine. This is going to be great."

"Caitlin, I'm not waiting anymore, let's get a move on," Julie called from the living room.

Standing and picking up her bookbag, Caitlin took a deep breath and finished, "It's a brave new world."

* * *

Sitting in her kitchen, Kirsten was feeling rather apprehensive about all of Julie's plan for the business. When this had all started it was just supposed to be a little distraction; something to fill the hours of the day when the boys were at school. Now Seth and Ryan are away for good and the company is taking a big step forward. 

"Morning honey," Sandy said as he walked in and picked up a bagel, sitting next to her. "Today's the big day!"

As Sandy grinned away, Kirsten looked miserable. She responded, "I think I'm going through a mid-life crisis."

"Oh come on."

"It's just the business is becoming such a big part of my life. I don't want it to take everything over now that Seth and Ryan are gone forever."

"We saw them 15 hours ago. And I'm sure they'll visit before Thanksgiving."

"So, we're basically a holiday family. But even that's just for now. Ryan's going to graduate and get a job back in Atlanta to be with Mary. And Seth—"

"Seth's living with Marissa Cooper."

"I know that."

"I know that you know that. It's just so crazy I need to remind myself."

"But even that. He's left for college and he's living with a girl. He's never coming back to live here again."

"But at least he can be happy. They both will be. And this isn't a mid-life crisis, just a slight case of empty nest syndrome. It isn't as if either of us lived under the delusion that Seth would stay in his room until he was thirty, take over the Newport Group and become the next Caleb Nichol."

"Oh Lord."

"Yeah, exactly. Don't worry about all of this. I mean this is the time parents dream of. Just us. That isn't a bad thing," he added, wrapping his arm around her and getting a smile in return. "It's a brave new world."

* * *

Just over an hour's drive north, Ryan was finishing dressing in his dorm room. The single bedroom dorm was 6x15 and besides a small tv, bed and computer, there wasn't enough room for more than four people to stand in the room. As he buttons his blue shirt, he leans over talking on the phone. 

"So she's feeling better? Good. Is she up, I'd like to talk to her. No, that's alright. No, don't wake her. Later? Yeah, I'll call tonight. No, no plans. Look Theresa, I have to get going. I have a civics class in 15 minutes. Is there anything else?"

Ryan stuffs two books into his bag, before answering a barely heard questions.

"Marissa? I really haven't had a chance to talk to her yet, so… I just don't know yet. Look, I'll call you tonight and tell Mary I love her and will be home for Thanksgiving. Yeah. Yeah, I saw Seth. Next time I see him, I'll say hi. Okay. Yeah. Bye."

Checking his appearance on the mirror on the back of the door, Ryan hung up the phone and grabbed his bag. When he opened the door to walk out into the still quite hallway, he paused. Walking back to the small closet, Ryan fished around for a minute before pulling out a notebook. Before placing it in his back, he took out a photograph and stared at it for a moment.

On his way out he placed the photo in the frame of the mirror next to a picture of Mary at 18 months old, wearing a little dress. The new photograph was one of Seth, Marissa and Ryan in front of the pool of Caleb's half-finished model home. He remembered laughing with Seth as Marissa set up the camera timer that night. It was back before he really knew Summer, but still he was amazed to have two friends in Newport after only a few days.

Opening the door, again he left for his class, reminding himself, "It's a brave new world."

* * *

Just across town Seth was walking out of the bathroom and pulling his t-shirt over his head. He saw Marissa already dressed and ready to leave. She handed him his coffee without looking up from her Intro to Business textbook. 

"Aren't you usually running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to finish getting ready right about this time every morning?" Seth asked her.

Glancing up quickly, Marissa smiled and explained, "I can't really remember the last time my hair was this short, I find the shorter look now remarkably time efficient."

"And gorgeous I believe I mentioned."

"Several times," she replied, leaning across the table to kiss him. Returning to her book, she continued speaking, "So how much time do we have?"

"Well we actually have a half hour to enjoy each other's company, and then we must rush off. We can't have America's next great mogul late for her first business class."

"You have art history, right?"

"Yep, yet another reason you need to succeed: to support me through my useless liberal arts education. Although, I'm not so magnanimous I won't point out that my art is paying for this lovely apartment."

"Which will be much lovelier when we finally unpack. How about we get some pizza and have a nice cleaning session tonight?"

"I love your giant business brain," Seth quipped drinking his coffee. Marissa looked up again a moment to see Seth staring and smiling at her.

"What?" she asked.

"It's just me living in L.A., writing my own comic, going to college and living with you," Seth explained. "It's just so…"

After an extended pause, Marissa attempted to fill in the blank, "Nice? Perfect? Indescribable? New?"

"I can't believe this," she said, putting her book down and grabbing his hand. "Is Seth Cohen lost without a quip? Something to tie the conversation up in a nice bow? Should I alert the media?"

"That would be a first. Let me give it a shot."

As the seconds ticked by Seth squeezed his face into a ball mimicking deep though, before finally smiling and saying, "It's a – no I got nothing."

_California… California… Here we come._


	7. The Brave New World 2

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: Somewhere there is an AU where I own all this shit. Unfortunately, this ain't it.

_A/N: Not too much to say right now, so as always please R&R. I hope you enjoy. I went on a bit with the last section, but if you like it, you really, REALLY need to read Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. There are more than a couple references to that work here. FYI -- Sean is basically me. I will try to use him almost **never**, just thought you should know for no particular reason whatsoever._

**Episode Two: The Brave New World (Chapter Seven)**

Ryan sat in Professor Samantha Hawkins Biology class. He wasn't thinking about the building blocks of life or the wonders of the natural world. His thoughts this particular Monday morning were split between how much he hated the idea of core requirements in college and how he really didn't want to reply to the voicemail that Seth had left him during his first class. It was something about hanging out, repairing bridges and basically an invitation to stop by anytime. Ryan had deleted it without too much thought. Putting on a happy face for Sandy and Kirsten was one thing, but actually forgiving them was a completely different matter. Maybe there wasn't too much to forgive, he thought. Besides not telling him sooner was there anything to be mad about? The last time he saw Marissa they had fought, so much for the promises they made each other about working through the problem. He couldn't stay and she couldn't leave. Regardless, he didn't feel like seeing either of them right now. Although as far as being interesting, they weren't trailing Intro to Biology by all that much.

"Sex!" the girl sitting next to him basically yelled. "Lots and lots of sex."

"Actually, Miss Crowne, I was looking for sexual reproduction, but the tenants are…" Professor Hawkins continued with her lecture.

Ryan hadn't even heard the question; he was so wrapped up in thinking about them: his friends, his former-best friends, his _whatevers_. The first two classes of the day were from his major or at least interesting and he was able to distract himself and concentrate on projects. Things to do. Things to occupy those errant brain cells that wanted to divert there way back to less enjoyable subjects. Biology just wasn't going to cut the cake.

But now Ryan had found another distraction. He was stealing glances at the girl, who had the entire class rolling in laughter a minute ago. She seemed to be the only person in the room almost as disinterested in biology as he was. Ryan was enough of a guy to admit the way she looked kept his eye wandering back as much as any other reason. Here was somebody beating to their own drummer. He had to admit it. Ryan liked her jet long black hair that must reach more than halfway to her waist, the almost invisible pink jewel in her nose, the jean jacket and the low cut white blouse underneath it, the black leather pants that matched her hair and of course pink cowboy boots to top (or in this case bottom) it all off. And the Texan accent was a nice kicker.

Everything about this girl screamed something wrong. _I'm totally a rebound girl. You would never look twice at me when you were in a relationship. I'm NOT a relationship girl. I'd slit my own wrists before I became one._ But Ryan's mind kept going over the fact that both Marissa and Theresa were relatively safe choices. At least when compared to this girl they seemed that way.

And just like that the final half-hour of biology flew by in a few instants. Ryan went out the door that she didn't, his good judgment over-ruling his desire for distraction. Two steps out the door, he bumped into her. _Guess she's spry. Damn, bad thoughts._ A mumbled apology and he continued down the hall. And he really wasn't thinking bad thoughts the rest of the day. Whenever he felt his mind drifting back to Marissa or Seth, he just used one thought to push them back out. _Green eyes._

* * *

Sitting in the courtyard at Harbor, Caitlin found herself alone. Things had not really gone according to plan and it was all because of that damn sign. She stared at it even now. Flying across the courtyard. It was the Harbor motto for the new school year. It read, _"Community. Identity. Stability."_ Caitlin's first reaction upon seeing it had been to say to herself, "God, some teenager actually thought that up and put it on a poster over the summer. Kill me now." 

She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but did anyway. And she was within earshot of three girls who obviously were thinking, _"Cool." _Not that Caitlin was looking for a friend with such a limited vocabulary, but by the start of first period she was that year's outcast. Now here she was alone at lunch as more popular cliques laughed and hung out at other tables. _How is it those damn things didn't even need a full day to form?_ But in only one minute and thirteen seconds she accomplished a feat it took Seth Cohen nearly a decade to master.

"Oh well," she consoled herself aloud. "Four hours down, five thousand nine hundred sixteen to go."

"Seriously?"

Caitlin looked up to see a boy sit down at the table across from her. He actually came to the first day of school wearing a windbreaker. This meant that he was an over-zealous athlete or a dork or both. A firm believer in the idea of beggars not being choosers, she tried to put on a face slightly less off-putting than the scowl she had worn so far that day.

"Unfortunately."

"So are you a math genius or something, figuring that out on the spot?"

"No," she answered. "But you would amazed how long a period of algebra can take if you really DON'T put your mind towards it. My thoughts wandered."

"I'm not a dork or anything."

"What?"

"The windbreaker," he explained, tugging on it so she knew _which _windbreaker he was talking about. For some reason that made her smile. "I have gym next period. Also, I'm trying out for the track team after school, so I figured why bother changing clothes five times a day."

"Makes sense to me."

"Well that makes you more understanding than some of my prospective teammates. Of course a new school's nothing new for me. First, you try out, make the team, get typical new guy hazing, win a couple races, earn some respect, throw it all away because your dad got transferred AGAIN, rinse, wash, repeat."

"Well, I never thought I'd meet somebody today not from Newport. Especially somebody from outside Newport who thought it was the same as everywhere else."

"Well give it another four hours and I'm sure I'll be convinced of your point-of-view. But so far it's class, homework and typical teenagers. If it deviates from the norm in my experience, you'll be the first to know."

"I guess it never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes."

"I'm not a stalker."

"Again… what?"

"Well, it's just that I overhead you say something kind of cool and unique and invited myself to sit with you. I just didn't want to creep you out. I'm told I make bad first impressions."

"Well, seeing as how my best friend at high school, until you showed up, was that rather interesting tree over there, I'm not complaining. In fact, you just might be my hero. As long as you don't cut off my fingers or anything."

"No fingers, no problem. That I can handle."

"So what's my hero's name?"

"Jesse Owens Thomas. Yeah, I know and my Dad is from the same area of Alabama and really loved the guy. The track thing is just a coincidence. I'm not nearly that good, just a bit above average. So, what's my person-who-mistakenly-thinks-I'm-a-hero's name?

"Caitlin Cooper," she answered. After a moment's pause, she said, "Don't worry. We just have to put up with high school for another five thousand nine hundred fifteen hours and forty-five minutes until all the awkwardness of high school is over."

"And hey I'm sure we'll have a few sick days mixed in there, so really only another five thousand seven hundred or so hours," Jesse added.

"Jess, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

* * *

Seth had been in the class room for less than a minute when Marissa walked in the door. They managed to have a single class together this semester, Introductory to Dramatic Composition. One of the many thoughts his first day in college had inspired was if high school, especially Harbor, was designed to prepare you for college, then why did all your first-year classes still "Introduce" you to the subject? His first class, Art History, was actually unexpectedly fascinating, but the work load the professor had described would be exhaustive. Weekly quizzes, two 500-word papers, various smaller papers and assignments, the mid-term (which one student had heard a sophomore describe as the _Death Knell_) and a final independent project covering a yet-to-be-determined subject: it was altogether just plain scary. Intro to Shakespeare, which would help with his English minor, would also have an amount of work that any high school student would pass out over, but at least ¾ of the writings that the course covered Seth had read before and had at least some degree of understanding of going in. 

But the moment she walked into the class, Seth realized this was the one that could crush his GPA. The urges to zone out and stare at Marissa Cooper for 50 minutes would test, his now-not-very-secure concentration. Jeans and a t-shirt, but still the only word popping into his mind was: radiant. _Is that my t-shirt?_ This was not going to be an easy task. At least he could hope for an engaging teacher, somebody who could command his attention away from the siren next to him.

Kissing him quickly, on the cheek, Marissa asked, "So how is day number one going?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure unless you move into the campus library we won't technically be living together anymore, but at least it's something new. It's interesting. How about you?"

"The Intro class was interesting enough, it looks like I'll learn some practical lessons. I didn't really hit it off with my International Finance professor, Mrs. Henderson. There were only twelve students there, so she talked to us one at a time. She told me I had potential for some nice little business, but that I was no Henry Ford. I think she meant that as a negative."

"Well, as your boyfriend, I'm willing to support any attempt to differentiate you from a glorified turn of the century auto maker. I guess we'll just have to blacklist the whole line. No Taurus for us, honey."

Glancing at the clock, Marissa noted they only had a minute until the start of class. Taking the seat next to Seth, she leaned toward him and quietly said, "I'm going to have sex with you tonight."

Seth's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. A heavy-set student on the other side of him added, "Sweet dude."

Leaning in to try and keep the conversation semi-private, Seth asked, "First off, I am holding you to that. But was there a reason you needed to share that with the class?"

"Well, you were just looking at me with those puppy-dog eyes and was worried you'd spend the entire class thinking about me and looking at me and then I'd do the same and neither of us would get anything out of the class."

"And you thought promising (once again holding you to it) sex would take my mind off of the subject?"

"I thought if you weren't worried about it, you could redirect and focus."

After a moment, he extended his hand and added, "Hi, I'm Seth."

"Sorry, but we'll have to try okay? This is my only non-business related class this semester and I want to really nail this one out of the park."

"Again with the talk about nailing? You're killing me here. But I promise to try. I just hope the professor isn't some conformist boring jerk."

* * *

"I don't know about this, Julie." 

Kirsten stood in the middle of the conference room of the empty office space they were looking at. The realtor stood back by the front door, talking to her office about other properties in the area. The grouping of thirteen she had planned for the day had all failed to meet with Kirsten's approval. Julie stood in the doorway separating the conference room from what she had already decided would be her office. It was the corner of the building with plenty of the windows and a view of the ocean. She knew where she would put the desk and what brand of chairs she would put where. Even the art for the walls was already there in her mind's eye. She had it all planned out. But she had done the same thing at the last six sites. They weren't the problem. Kirsten was.

"What is the matter with this one?"

"It doesn't feel right."

"The office or the entire company?"

"Julie, I just need to take my time and feel comfortable with this," Kirsten explained. "The last business I worked at nearly tore me from my family more than once. It nearly killed me. We always decided we would take this at a pace we were both comfortable with and I just need more time."

"We aren't moving at any pace, Kirsten. We've been standing in place for four months now, waiting for you to be comfortable to take the next step."

Kirsten avoided responding and instead looked away pretending to survey the offices. She really wished the ceiling would collapse on her. Or a hole would open in the floor and swallow her. Even some bad pipes would do. Any excuse to not admit that there was absolutely nothing wrong with this place. It was actually better than half of the places they had been today. None had been unacceptably bad, but she managed to find a reason not to take each of them. There was a small receptionist's office by the front door and the hallway with five doors. On the right were the restrooms and an area they could use for storage. On the left were two offices at either end. She had a feeling Julie was attached to the one further down the hall with corner-office and ocean-view. The large windows along the back of the building made the other office acceptable with a perfectly nice view. Each office and the main hall had entrances to a center area where they could meet with clients and each other. The walls were already painting a lovely coat of sky blue. If Julie had her way, they would be completely moved in by the end of the week.

"Kirsten, I understand these are some big changes, but I'm asking you to take this step with me. We more than proved this summer that we can handle the pressures of running this business successfully. I know you're worried about something, but I need your support here. I may not say it often. Or ever, but I know more than a little bit of the reason you proposed this business was to help me out of some hard times."

"Julie, it isn't as if I haven't enjoyed doing this, but—"

"Then don't stop because you're afraid of change. I still need your help. Neither of us could do this alone. I have one daughter in a not-inexpensive private school and another in college and a mortgage. Although, I really do have to say Marissa has been such a big help. Even on that silly road trip, she covered so much of her tuition with scholarships and financial aid. She even found a friend to let her live rent-free."

"Really, wow, that's, um, good. And you're right Julie. Let's take it."

"You mean it?"

Without waiting for a response, Julie rushed over and hugged Kirsten, cutting off a fair amount of circulation. A moment later she was out in the other room, breaking the good news to the realtor. By the time Kirsten walked back to the front room, Julie had her cell phone out and was calling about furniture.

* * *

"This is the right place, right?" Seth asked. 

"Yeah, I checked the room number twice," the heavy-set man next to him, Sean answered. "Maybe the teacher's sick?"

"They would have sent somebody right?" Marissa asked. "I mean its been twenty minutes."

The once near-full class room now only had four remaining students: Seth, Marissa, Sean and an Asian-American girl named Kelly seating in the front row. For the last five minutes, they had debated following the other students out. Seth had spent most of the time tapping his pen anxiously on his desk. When the teacher hadn't arrived on time, a half-dozen older students had walked out quietly laughing and exchanging high-fives amongst themselves. The rest of the students had begun filing out in groups on two or three with the occasional loner for 25 minutes. But now they were the last few who had stayed.

"If this is some prank they play on the freshmen, I have to say I'm pissed," Marissa said. "I really was actually looking forward to this class."

"Right," Seth replied, jumping out of his seat and going up to the teacher's desk up front, sitting on top of it. "So let's have it. I mean we all stuck around for a reason. If some jerk professor can't be bothered to show up, we'll do it ourselves."

"Teach the class?" Sean asked.

"Well, come on, why not, you must be here for a reason," he responded. "Why are you still sitting in the class after 30 minutes, Sean?"

"I mean, well, I always wanted to be a writer. This seemed like a good class to take."

"So what's some of the stuff you write?"

"Well, just stuff for myself really, I mean the closest I ever came to publishing something was some fan fiction online. I'm a big Stargate fan, so since high school, I've posted stuff like that."

"Cool, more a fan of The Valley myself, but I'll admit to being a small-time Sam-Jack shipper. How about you, uh, Kelly?"

"Well, I signed up for the class to meet the requirement. I want to be a high school English teacher. I haven't really thought about what I'd get out of this class specifically."

"That's cool. I bet writing some things of your own will help with insight into what other writers are trying to say. Marissa, since you apparently are comfortable enough with Sean and Kelly to talk about our sex life, let them in on the big secret of why a business major is still sitting in a English class after a half hour. And try not to flatter me too much, I blush."

Standing up and sitting in the front row next to Kelly, Marissa blushed a little at the sex comment and said, "Like Seth said, I'm a business major, but I'm not entirely sure what type of business I want to be involved in someday. I don't want to just be in business for the sake of being in business. I suppose I took this class just to broaden my horizons. Maybe some insight into myself to find out what I want to do."

"How about you man?" Sean asked, finally rising and taking the seat on the other side of Kelly. "Any reason besides her?"

"Yeah, this desk is wicked comfortable."

"Come on, Cohen, he told you what he wrote. You can share—"

"Cohen? You're Seth Cohen. Like Atomic County?"

"Wow, my fame precedes me," raising his legs on the desk and sitting Indian style, Seth adds, "I have ALWAYS wanted a set-up to say that line. Thanks Sean."

"Dude, you are so signing my copy of that book Wednesday."

At this point Sean and Marissa scooted their desks so that the four of them were sitting in a square. Taking the lead again, Seth began, "Alright, let's talk about some composing here."

"Yes, let's."

Standing in the doorway was a short man of about fifty leaning on his cane. His short grey beard and trimmed hair said college professor, but the leather jacket didn't. Deciding to ignore the jacket part, Seth slid off the desk and Sean and Marissa began to move their desks back.

Waving at them to stop, the man began, "No, no go back to your spots. Believe me you earned them. Everyone here is a freshman I assume?"

Taking their silence for affirmations, he continued walking and leaning again the blackboard near them said, "Always the way. Well, good morning class, my name is Professor Marcus Bernard. You can call me, Marcus, since I'm not likely to call any of you by your last names."

Seth interjected, "People say that but it never lasts with me."

"Well, Seth, as your 'jerk professor' for this class let me begin illuminating you. Every year I show up late for my first class, a few upperclassmen run out right away, knowing I give everyone who walks out a B- if they don't drop the class. Most of them still drop it rather than take the chance. The reason I do this is because I have been at it for more than 30 years and frankly I'm bored to death of stuffing unwanted information down the throats of 20-year-old throats that don't want to be here. I don't give a shit about grades. I may be an old fool, but I want to change lives. I'm too old and crippled and a bastard to care. Of course today my car broke down, I usually walk in with 15 to 20 students left, but I actually wasn't sure if anybody would be here today. Sure enough I'm blessed with four potential visionaries. Hopefully, we've weeded out all the drama queens and pseudo-intellectuals. I hope there is nobody left who is here to write about, as one student once told me, 'The Greatest Love'? No? Excellent, I strongly advise Professor Matthew's Poetry class in room 211 if you were. You four stuck it out. Now you need to make a promise to each other here. We are not just talking about writing. We're going to discuss dramatic writing. What we write in this class needs to be visceral and alive. There are not going to be any half-measures. I expect from the four of you to challenge yourselves. I want to see soul on the page or there will be no B- for you, there will be a big, fat F. Other students may return next class, but allow me to return the honesty I ask of you. I don't give a shit about them. I will wake up every morning and be here, on time, for you four alone. The others will have lower standards because in my mind's eye they are just taking up space. I am here this year to read what you give me. Write about pain, suffering, love, lust, family, diversity, art, literature, religion, philosophy. Write as if the everyday bullshit of your life is strangling you and this is your one and only chance to show anyone in the world HOW YOU FEEL!"

As he raised his voice to a full scream for the conclusion, the students looked around. Kelly looked a bit apprehensive, but Sean was beaming. Marissa and Seth looked at each other for a moment. They would definitely have no problem staying on target in this class.

"Anyone want to walk out to that B- now? Free shot," Bernard offered. After several moments, he began the class (40 minutes late). "Then before we're all strangled to death, let's begin."


	8. The Brave New World 3

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: The OC and everything wondrous attached to it is still completely independent of me. There are a few original characters introduced last chapter the are generic, but at least mine.

_A/N: Please keep those reviews coming. FYI – I would still love some audience input on what they think Seth and Marissa's song should be. I have a pretty cool idea for it becoming this little ongoing mystery that isn't revealed until the season finale._

**Episode Two: The Brave New World (Chapter Eight)**

'Well that wasn't so bad,' Caitlin thought as she waited on the steps for Julie to pick her up. It wasn't that she would not have preferred to be more popular, but she did ask God for at least one friend and true to form, He delivered on the bare minimum. Besides, if she wanted to be accepted by most of these kids she would have picked a different after school activity. Before she left for boarding school, she had been part of Newport's Young Equestrian Society. Even with a horse as bald as Dr. Phil, at least she was accepted and popular with the snootiest of the snoots. She smiled thinking back on how much Marissa would have hated that kid at 14. Watching a group of cheerleaders giggling amongst themselves and eyeballing her, she realized how much she would have hated that kid at 14.

As the cheerleaders passed within a few feet of her, heading down the steps, she overheard some not-too-subtle digs at what 'that trailer girl' was wearing. Fighting down the urge she wouldn't have been able to a few months ago to confront them and maybe start a fight, Caitlin instead looked over what she was wearing. Okay, she admitted, maybe jeans wasn't the typical Newport girly-girl acceptable uniform, but she was worried enough about starting high school without guys trying to look up her skirt. And she didn't live in a trailer, _anymore_. Looking after the cheerleaders, she remembered how the freshman boys had dropped a lot of pencils today and mumbled, "Apparently some people don't mind."

"Don't mind what?" Jesse asked riding his bike down the hill next to the steps. He pulled around and walked the bike backs towards her.

"Don't mind being thought of as nothing but a walking, talking sex witch," Caitlin responded.

"Oh, okay," Jesse said and then added, "Well, if you're talking about me then no I don't mind, but keep it in your pants Caitlin, I'm not ready to commit."

"Wow, did track not work out and now you can fine tune your jokes in preparation for that dream job at the circus?"

"Oh, _har-dee-har-har_. You happen to be looking at the newest member of the JV track team. Hey, do they even still have circuses?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Caitlin said after thinking about it for a minute. "I remember going to one with my dad and sister when I was like five, but, man, I can't remember the last time I even heard of one."

"I think its part of the deprogramming they do when you become a teenager, erase all reference to all things innocent and child-like to prepare you for the real world. So hey, what are you doing here an hour late, parents forget about you or can you not tear yourself away from this place?"

"While option one might not be that surprising," Caitlin explained, "I somehow let my sister's boyfriend talk me into thinking I should join the school paper."

Jesse kicked his bike stand down and sat down on the steps next to her, "See, nobody told me I was sitting down to lunch with the next Bob Woodward."

"Well, before I became the poorest girl in Newport, I worked on the yearbook at the boarding school I went to, but Seth, the boyfriend, warned me that wasn't the clique I might enjoy hanging with in school, not that the journalists are that much better."

"What type of clique is that?"

"Them," Caitlin said, pointing at a group of two cheerleaders and Fanny Foster, this year's new social chair, as they drove past in a convertible.

"Wow, is the yearbook still taking applications?" Jesse joked.

Punching him in the arm, Caitlin responded, "Sorry, Track Star, I don't see you giggling enough to be allowed to determine how future generations will know who was more popular in the Class of 2010. Plus, of the little group we started, you are the only representative who can bring glory to mighty Harbor on the field of battle."

"No problem, I learn to giggle, get down with the yearbook and you can join the boxing team," Jesse said, rubbing his arm. He stood up as a new Ford truck pulled into the parking lot ahead of them and a large black man got out and strode towards them.

"There's my man," he said, embracing Jesse. "How'd it go?"

"Well I didn't make the freshman team," Jesse said, shocking his father before adding, "I made JV."

"Way to go, son. I think Mom is making a congratulatory cake right now."

"Sweet. Oh, hey Dad, this is Caitlin. Caitlin, my dad; Jim Thomas. Woodward here is so far the only person here cool enough to hang with my new crew."

"Well, she must be pretty cool, bud."

As Mr. Thomas extended his hand, Caitlin rose and shook it. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"We should get back to Mom, son. If you want some of that cake left for you that is. You need a ride, Caitlin?"

Arriving on cue as always, Julie pulled up behind Mr. Thomas' truck and waved at Caitlin. From her beaming smile, Caitlin had a feeling things went well for her today with Kirsten; i.e. she won the argument. As Mr. Thomas greeted Julie and introduced himself, Caitlin leaned over towards Jess and whispered, "Woodward?"

"Yeah, if I told all my friends back in Seattle that my new best bud was named Caitlin, I'd never live it down. Without my pride, I'm nothing."

"Well, you should come to homeroom with clothes of the non-athletic gear variety in the future then."

* * *

Pacing in the living room, Kirsten held the portable phone tightly, her knuckles turning white. In her other hand, she held a piece of paper with Seth's new phone number scribbled on it. Twice she started dialing and hung up. _Space, give him space_, she thought. It had only been a day and se didn't want to be accused of smothering him. Even if she did want to, she didn't want Sandy accusing her of wanting to do so. Of course she just knew that if she called Seth that sooner or later Sandy would hear about it and then there'd be an unhealthy amount of gloating on his part. Then she decided, if not Seth, she could at least call Ryan. That wasn't as likely to get back to Sandy and it would calm her nerves, even if she was only doing half the smothering she wanted to be performing. 

As she walked over to the counter and began flipping through her address book, Sandy walked in carrying a bag of Chinese take-out. Slamming her book shut, she returned his smile as innocently as possible.

Of course, Sandy knew Kirsten and it didn't take her slamming an address book shut to clue him in to what's going on. He had figured out what each of her smiles meant ages ago. It was just like how she always knows when he skips out of work early to walk down by the pier. Long since content that there weren't going to be many well-hidden secrets between the two of them, Sandy decided not to let the opportunity to have a little fun slip away.

"Hey honey," he began, kissing her. "Who you calling?"

"Well, uh, you. I wanted to let you know Julie wants to take us out to dinner to celebrate the new offices, but I guess you left work a little early."

_Dang it_, Sandy thought. "Well, it was an interesting day at the office like usual..."

"Yeah sure."

"But I just missed you so much."

"I missed you to and don't worry, we can save this for dinner tomorrow. Then you can put in a full day with… what interesting project are you working on now?" Kirsten asked. The lilt to her voice convinced Sandy he had better change the subject. Somehow this had all backfired on him. He really had to figure out how she kept doing that to him. But Sandy Cohen was no amateur at the game of back and forth with his wife.

"Nothing, we can't discuss later. Say, isn't the office on speed dial? What's with the address book?"

"Well, it's on my cell phone. I couldn't find it."

"Oh," Sandy replied, lifting the cell phone off of the table in front of him.

"Hey you found it!"

"Hey I found it," Sandy repeated as he handed her the phone. As she turned to walk away, he added, "So how's Seth?"

"I wouldn't know. Fine, I suppose."

"And Ryan?"

"All right Sandy," Kirsten smiled as she gave up. "I'm allowed to worry. And I never dialed the number… well all of them… so no holding this over me."

"Kirsten, I'm shocked. You think me the type of man to do that?"

"I know the man I married," she answered smiling brightly for the first time that day.

"Damn right you do," Sandy said.

Picking up the boxes of take-out, he began placing them in the refrigerator. Just after he set the last one down and close the door he noticed something on the bottom shelf.

"When did you get these?" he asked, pulling up an economy-sized box of pudding cups.

"I picked them up on the way home, just a little something to drown my empty nest syndrome in."

"Wow, you're really going to take that bastard down," Sandy mused, admiring the size of the box. "Tell you what, I think after we get back from dinner with Julie, we will both have earned a little phone time with the boys."

"You mean it?"

"Hey, you know the man you married," he said. "Would I lie?"

"Yes," she replied kissing him. "But you're in a lot of trouble if you're lying this time."

* * *

"You are in so much trouble Cohen." 

Looking up from his video game, Seth stretched all the way over to see an upside-down Marissa looking none to happy. Thinking the better of a smarmy response, he instead sat there waiting for her to explain why she was mad. But she didn't continue. Apparently, this was something that Seth should realize on his own he did wrong and apologize for without reminder. Nothing coming to him after a minute, he noticed her getting madder and she began tapping her foot on the kitchen floor. Finally, his old instincts got the better of him.

"Are you looking at me angrily or is that all the blood rushing to my head?"

_Oh, no you don't Seth_, Marissa thought as she approached him. She wouldn't let him get out of it that easily. No way was she smiling at one of his jokes. He had promised her and still done nothing. He hadn't even noticed that she was mad when she came in the door with the pizza and slammed it shut. As she stood over him looking down, he kept his eyes on her, his face beat red from the rush of blood of leaning over the back of the couch.

"Oh, are you mad because I didn't put those shelves together?" he ventured with his biggest puppy-dog face on, which Marissa realized she could never admit was hilarious with his face so red.

"Yes, Seth. You promised me four days ago you'd put them together while I was putting the kitchen together and I didn't say one word when you spent the entire day playing videogames with Caitlin—"

"She insulted my manhood. I had to defend it, if not for me than for you."

"And again you told me to go get the pizza and you would take care of it and I come back and you still haven't opened the boxes, you're just sitting here playing some old game."

"Hey, hey, hey," Seth replied flipping over and kneeling on the couch so he could look at her, without passing out at least. "First of all, this is the original Super Mario Bros., not just _some old game_. Second of all, did you really think I'd let you down?"

"You did Seth and don't be funny. I am trying to be intimidating here."

"Well, don't because it doesn't really suit you as well as adorable and understanding does."

"Seth…"

As Marissa raised her voice, Seth decided he didn't want to push his luck any further. Grabbing her hand, he lead her towards the bedroom and his surprise present.

"Oh, if you're thinking that I'm just going to.."

Her voice trailed off as she stepped through the doorway. When she left the bedroom had been a disaster area comparable to a small nuclear meltdown. Now the piles of clothes were neatly put away in the closet or dresser, their new books for school were now organized on matching little blue and pink bookshelves. A new full length mirror was propped up in the corner and while Seth's computer was set-up on a flimsy desk on wheels that couldn't have cost more than $25, her laptop was set on top of a large brown desk next to the window. It reminded her of the desk her father used to have in his office. It might have been a little smaller, obviously to fit down the hallway and into the room it had to be, but it seemed so nice and professional, especially sitting next to Seth's cart on wheels.

"When did you?"

"Well I bought it last week when you thought I was at the comic shop. It was getting delivered this afternoon, hence the insistence that you go get dinner. I thought for sure you knew something was up when I didn't spend the rest of the week bagging and boarding comics."

Wrapping her arms around his neck so tightly he could barely breath, Marissa rubbed a couple tears into the shoulder of his shirt. When she released her kung-fu grip, Seth started to take in a deep breath of air before she nearly slammed their faces together in a deep kiss. After a minute, Marissa came up for air. She smiled at Seth (and his once again red face) as he caught her breath.

"Wow, you sure know how to take a guy's _oxygen _away," he said after a moment. "So does that mean you'll help with the living room?"

"Well, get enough pizza in me and you might be able to make me just about happy enough to lend a hand," Marissa said as she practically skipped to the kitchen and opened the box of pizza.

Coming up behind her as she started eating a slice, Seth wrapped his arms around her waste and leaned over her shoulder, saying, "Alright, food first. But then we clean and after that I'm holding you to that earlier statement."

Letting him take a bite of her pizza, Marissa grabbed his arm, holding herself in his grasp.

"Pepperoni pizza, a clean apartment and a night alone with Seth Cohen. I must be the luckiest girl in the world."

* * *

That night, Ryan sat on the steps to the side door of his dorm, Dykstra Hall, smoking his last cigarette. He looked over at the main entrance of the dorm where a dozen or so smokers were congregating. At first he thought it was odd that among people as rebellious as college students. He wondered why more didn't just disconnect their smoke detectors or lean out the window. But he didn't start smoking because he particularly cared for it. It was just something sociable thing that guys on a construction site did together. _Same rules apply all around_, he thought as he watched the others talking and laughing amongst themselves. Of course, he wasn't feeling very sociable at the moment, so he sat brooding; quite contently so, in his dark little corner. 

For a good portion of the day, he managed to at least distract himself with the Crowne girl he had spent half of biology class staring a hole through. Then after eating dinner alone, he got another voicemail from Seth. Just your standard Seth ramblings, he had asked if Ryan had gotten the previous message and let him know he could call anytime. All he wanted right now was for Seth to back off and give him his space. Of course, he would have to talk to him to tell him and that wasn't an appealing idea at the moment. He could just ignore the calls until they stopped coming. But knowing Seth that would be a very long process. So here he found himself alone. For the moment that was fine with him.

"Well, if it ain't Creepy Bio Boy."

Ryan turned his head and met the green eyes he had managed to use as an effective diversion most of the day. Well, if it worked once…

"It's Ryan actually."

"Yeah, I suppose that fits just as well," she answered as she sat down on the narrow stairway next to him. Together they blocked anybody else who might want to go in or out of the side door.

"So Ryan, why don't you play nicely with the other children?" she asked pointling towards the main door.

"Didn't especially feel like a crowd tonight."

"Do you generally?"

"Not lately it seems."

"Oh, I get it," she said taking a pack of cigarettes out of her jacket. "Have ta say I agree with your point. Never seen so many idiots so excited to find other idiots that prefer the same method of slow, painful suicide."

Ryan smirked at the comment, taking his cigarette in his hand; suddenly he wasn't in such a hurry to finish it. She placed her cigarette in her mouth and looked at him.

"So I figure the least ya'll can can do for nearly running me down outside of class is offer a girl a light."

Sitting up slightly Ryan took his lighter out of his pocket and offered it to her. She looked from it to him and then leaned back laughing rather loudly. Ryan looked at her confused, then noticed some of the other smokers heard and were looking over towards them.

"What's the problem?" he asked raising his voice slightly to be heard over her.

Sitting back up to him she leaned over and set her head on his shoulder.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with you Ry? You never did this before?

"Smoke?"

"No you idiot, flirt, hook-up, whatever," she responded. After a moment, she put her hand on his chin and pushed up to close his mouth. "See that's how it works. Girl sits net to you for no good reason and asks you for a light, she's flirting. Now the entire point of askin for a light is for you to turn the lighter on with one hand and shield it from the wind with the other. It doesn't matter if there isn't any wind, cause it doesn't matter. I don't just want a light. It's all just some way of getting your hands near my face. Don't ask me why, I just had the one Psych class so far. Think it has to do with reminding you of the way you caress someone's face when your having sex."

After a moment, Ryan barely got out an "um," but at least he could say he added something to the conversation.

"But in case you're as big an idiot as you look, this isn't some excuse to try and nail every girl asks for a light. Some girls just want a light. Some just want to flirt. But seeing as you actually just offered me the light without thinking about it, I figure you're not the type needs to be told something like that."

"You're kind of scary," Ryan said with a smirk.

"Well, you're kind of monosyllabic, buddy. And not exactly the deepest class I'm taking right now either."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, I can totally read you like a little Orwell novel. Let me take a shot in the dark, seeing as it is pretty dark out."

She moved her head back and studied his face for a moment before continuing, "You just got out of a relationship. You're pretty much Mr. Responsible. And despite the fact that anybody who looks you in those _cute_ little eyes can tell that you're a complete sap, some people don't know you from that hardass image you seem to have devoted a ton a time developing. That's you to a complete T. You're Mr. Ryan Responsible."

"Well, you are a little insightful. If also off-putting and weird."

"Ah, that's just cause ya don't me yet. Give it a couple days and I promise you'll start thinking about me when I'm not even there."

Seeing Ryan's response to that of reaching up and rubbing his hand through his hair, she then continued, "Oh, are we ahead of schedule Ry? Well, Mom always said I moved too fast. It's nice to find one that can keep up with the conversation."

"You really need to stop calling me Ry. Unless you want me to start calling you Miss Crowne."

"No way. Ry at least fits you. You look like a Ry. People can buy into that. Can you honestly, take a look at me and call me Miss Crowne? Kind of kinky, I'll admit, but not my kind."

She actually sat quietly for a minute before leaning back on the steps and staring at the sky. Turning slightly and propping himself up on his right knee, Ryan studied her face again for a moment before saying, "This is the part of the conversation where you tell me your name."

"Really, I thought it was the part where we go at it on the dorm steps," she replied with a laugh. "Layla. Layla Crowne. And if you make one crack about me having you on your knees, I'll kick your little butt all the way to the library and back."

"And back?"

"Well, yeah as fun as a romp in the library might be, I'm an old fashioned girl that prefers a bed when trying out a new guy. Or at least a roomy back seat."

As much as he focused on her face, Ryan couldn't tell if she was serious or not. One second she looked like this completely innocent girl with deep green eyes that never heard of sex, but then he was constantly trying to figure out if all the things she was saying was an invitation or a joke. He honestly couldn't tell. Preferring to look the fool over looking like a jerk, he turned around then leaned back looking at the stars. Then he heard it. She giggled at him. It wasn't a laugh. Not the sort of attention commanding performance she gave earlier. It was a quiet little giggle. It seemed completely out of character and he felt a twinge of pain when he admitted it sounded like Marissa.

"Holy Shit!" She yelled, sitting up. "Where the heck did that come from? Listen, Ry, I don't know what kind of girls you're used to but I don't giggle. Man, the smart play here would be to bolt and never look at you again. Never pay attention when you stare in Bio, never run into you on purpose so I could see your face and definitely never have sex with you. A guy like you could really screw a girl like me up."

Like most of the night, Ryan waited for her to say something. He just couldn't get his bearings around her. As she got up, Ryan assumed she would head inside. Instead she dove on top of him and tried to smother him with her own face. When he was able to escape her mouth, Ryan felt the urge to be honest with her.

"Look, you were… right. I'm… I'm just get out of a big relation—ship," he tried to get out between kisses. Grabbing her by the shoulders he held her away for a moment.

"Yeah, that works surprisingly well for me. Rebound girl, whatever. Ignore the rant a second ago. The best thing for me would be to just do it. That way I can get you out of my head. It's this damn itch; let's just scratch it. You can ignore me tomorrow, cause I'm gonna ignore you. Just think of it as something warm to get you through the night. So is your roommate home?"

_Tell her you can't, you shouldn't._ The Ryan Atwood who lived with the Cohens wouldn't do this in a million years. His phone was ringing in his pocket. That would be his excuse. He could just send her away, go to sleep and forget about it. Maybe he could skip Biology on Wednesday. Maybe he could be her friend and help her figure things out. Figure out why she was acting like this. He could play Ryan the Hero for her. Mr. Responsible.

"I have my own room."

Taking her by the hand, he lead her inside, feeling her other hand rubbing his back as she replied, "Aren't I a lucky girl."


	9. The Brave New World 4

**The Drama-less College Years….. Right?**

**By**: jvogel54321

**Disclaimer**: Nope not mine. (yet…)

_A/N: This will be the last chapter of this episode. I really hoped to separate the characters and establish the new status quo for each of them and introduce some of the faces we will see a lot of in this series (Jesse, Layla and Prof. Bernard). So enjoy the end of this story and look for the introduction chapter for episode three shortly._

**Episode Two: The Brave New World (Chapter Nine)**

The next morning Ryan rolled over to wrap his arm around the warm body next to him. Instead of that he rolled off his bed and landed with a loud thud on the bare dorm room floor. Rubbing his head, he imagined a sizable bump from the three-foot fall would develop in a little while. Standing up, Ryan noticed his bed was empty, as was the entire room. Turning his head back and forth again, perhaps half expecting a different result each time, Ryan eventually decided to just get up.

Walking over to his mini-fridge for some orange juice, Ryan pushed the blinds open. Outside he saw the sun beginning to rise over the campus to the east. He felt unexpectedly content. He never really thought he would be the type of person to feel that way after a one-night stand. But here he was standing in his room smiling at nobody. When he opened the fridge he took out the carton of orange juice. Shaking it, he found it unexpectedly empty.

"Guess she was thirsty," Ryan told himself.

Reaching down again he found the quart of milk was also empty.

"Really thirsty."

Walking over to his closet, Ryan threw on a t-shirt and noticed a post-it note stuck to the mirror on his door. Rubbing the last remnants of sleep from his eyes, he pulled it off the mirror and read Layla's note.

_I figured it would be easier if I weren't here in the morning. Great time though. Remember; no need to talk about it later. Cute kid. Are you seeing someone?_

The last sentence had two lines crossing it out, but leaving it legible enough to read. Ryan smirked when he read the question. This girl sure liked mixing messages. The fact that she wrote it means that she cared. The fact that she crossed it out meant she didn't. But the fact that she just drew a line through it and didn't write a new note meant she wanted him to know she was conflicted about it. Taking the note back with him, Ryan sat at the desk squeezed between his bed and the front door and attached it to his monitor. For the life of him, he couldn't figure her out. _What kind of girl has a one-night stand and still dots her "I"s with smiley faces? _She could have at least apologized for drinking everything he had. Well, she did leave a can of Pepsi and some apple juice.

Going back to the fridge for the juice, Ryan saw another note, this one on the back of the OJ carton he had thrown in the garbage.

_Sorry about the juice (and milk). At least you got something out of it ;)_

Ryan just shook his head, put this note on his computer next to the other and went back to his closet to get ready for his second day at UCLA. He wondered how it would compare to the first.

* * *

Seth sat alone in the apartment kitchen later the same morning. Sipping a cup of coffee, he turned a page in the copy of _The New Yorker_ that he was reading. After a minute, he glanced down at his watch again. It was now ten after eight in the morning. He opened his mouth to call for Marissa, but stopped and spent a moment laughing to himself. Taking a little time, to put on his most serious face, he began, "It's ten aft—" 

"I'm still not talking to you Cohen!" Marissa called from the bathroom.

Seth put his magazine down, unable to stop himself from laughing out. It was just loud clear enough to carry down the short hallway.

"Are you laughing at me! How can you find this funny!"

Marissa came into view wearing a USC Trojans shirt with her hair still unkempt and sticking out in various directions. She was literally hopping into her jeans at the moment.

"Uh, Coop—"

"You aren't Coop-ing your way out of this. How could you let me sleep in until eight?"

"Are you—"

"I only have five more minutes. Stop smiling," Marissa said as her own lips curled into one. "Look at me."

"I almost always am. And even if the Trojan community at large doesn't agree with me, I love your bed-head. By the way, you're still wearing yesterday's underwear."

Looking down, Marissa responded, "It figures THAT you notice. I can't believe I put on the same pair I just took off. Alright, I'll be ready in two minutes, but I damn well better not see you smiling."

Seth quickly picked up his magazine and held it closely over his face before saying, "No problem there."

Marissa ran in the bathroom to change and comb out her hair. Looking in the mirror as she furiously tried to straighten out her hair, Marissa asked herself, "What the hell did I do last night to end up like this?"

"Peeking his eyes over the top of the magazine Seth answered, "Had dinner, cleaned our former-disaster area of a living room and had sex… twice, hence you slept through the alarm while I got up."

"Oh yeah," she quipped. "Must not have been that memorable."

In the mirror, she saw Seth mockingly fall in pain to the hallway floor. Walking into the hall, she picked up her shoes and stood directly over him.

"I should be mad at you."

"You! Who just insulted who sexually?"

"Why can we never have a fight?" she asked, sitting on his chest as she tied her shoes. We she stood up, Seth took in a deep breath.

"Is that a problem?"

"It's weird being together with someone with no fights or problems or even a little panic attack for nearly three months. I think we're setting my personal record," Marissa said as she reached down and took Seth's hand and pulled him up to his feet.

"Same here. Although I think things will be smoother in the long run if you don't insult my bedroom skills so much."

"Well I could tell all my friends that _you're hot_. Would that make you happy?" she playfully asked him.

"Since your friends are me, your sister and my ex-girlfriend," Seth rattled off, "I have to say that would only make me happy 33.3 percent of the time."

"You're too cute, Cohen," she said as he handed her a coffee in a thermos to take with her. "Thanks. God, I love you."

Seth froze in his tracks. She had pretty much said it to herself. Maybe she didn't even mean to say it out loud. But she did. _I should say something before—_

Just then Marissa paused and looked at him. Both of their faces turned a shade towards red. She looked away and took a drink of her coffee. Running her hand through her hair, she glanced up at him, looking for a response in his face.

As he opened his mouth, Marissa quickly suggested, "We should get going. Don't want to be late for our first Tuesday class."

She walked over to the couch and picked up both of their book bags. Before she could turn around, he was pressing up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, grabbing the bags. After kissing her neck, he said, "You beat me to the punch there, huh? Well, Marissa Cooper, I do love you, too. Maybe I haven't said it before, but I've felt it and tried to show it for a while now. I love you."

Letting her go, he swung his backpack over his shoulder and held her hand a moment before they walked out the door together.

* * *

"Well, I'm glad I recognize so many faces from yesterday," the teacher said as the bell rang. "Welcome to journalism class everyone. For those of you who didn't attend the first newspaper meeting last night, I'm Ms. Helen Watson and I'll be your instructor for this elective class." 

Halfway back through the class in the aisle by the window, Caitlin looked up from her notebook at the teacher. This was definitely going to be her favorite day of the week. For Tuesdays, Caitlin started with a study hall. She was happy to see that was the one period she shared in common with Jesse. It was good to at least see a friend once a day outside of lunchtime. And of course, she got to continue the morning with her journalism class. She found herself really looking forward to that Thursday's meeting when she would get her first assignment.

Ms. Watson mentioned every student getting a copy of the Associated Press Style Guide for the class and while most of the students groaned, Caitlin quietly tapped her pen on the copy she had her mom stop and get last night after dinner. She wouldn't call herself 'excited' but Caitlin was at least glad Seth had convinced her to give it a shot. And if the opportunity to slightly mock cheerleaders, jocks or rich prisses in print came up, she wouldn't turn the opportunity down.

At the end of the class, Ms. Watson asked her to wait a minute to speak with her. Picking up her bag, Caitlin went and stood by her desk as the other students walked out, whispering about her. She had to wonder why whenever ANYTHING that made her stand out in the smallest way happened, people thought it was something worthy of giggles and mockery.

"So Caitlin, we're really thrilled to have you take such an interest in the paper so quickly."

"Yeah, that's me. Ms. Involved."

"Well you made quite an impression on one of the editors yesterday. Do you know Josh Mason?"

Thinking back to last night, Caitlin remembered the impossibly cute junior sitting next to Claire Wilson, the editor-in-chief. Yeah, there he was. Josh Mason: 6-2, 190 lbs, dark blonde hair and looked more like a sports star than sports editor.

"I saw him the other night," she said, and then added, "at the meeting."

"Well he wants you."

Before her heart could pound all of the way out of her chest and splatter her teacher, she questioned, "Huh? Me?"

"He spoke to Claire and myself after the meeting last night and requested for you to join the sports staff."

"The sports staff? Wow, I never really thought—"

"Well, Claire mentioned you had once been quite a good athlete, a rider I think, and the samples you submitted were rough, but plenty of potential. It's a chance to write for the most popular section of the paper right from the start. You'll have to see Josh for your assignment, but I think he might plan on starting you on girl's soccer and maybe give you a shot at basketball in the winter if you take to it. We all think you could just be a crackerjack in that section."

"It's just.. I'm not sure if sports is the area of journalism I really wanted to get into. I was thinking more along the lines of you know news with a little more depth."

"Well, I think Claire already has most of the front section reporters picked out, but we can talk to both her and Josh at the next meeting. Remember no small stories, only small reporters. You'll be there right?"

"Oh sure," Caitlin added, trying to sound more enthused than she really was. "With bells."

Out in the hall, she headed of toward the science wing, not paying much attention to where she was going when a water polo player player nearly twice her size rammed into her shoulder as he ran down the hall. As she bent and picked up the books she had just dropped, Caitlin heard something being yelled back at her involving the word geek. _Oh God_, she thought, _maybe I should be the sports reporter_. Being popular with the jocks wouldn't be all bad. She might even become popular with circles she would otherwise not approach.

"Hey Woodward," Jesse said as he walked towards her as she stood back up. "How goes day _numero dos_?"

"Well, somebody enjoyed Spanish class a little too much."

"Some things I take to like a fish to water. It's a gift. Did journalism not kick all manner of butt?"

"Not quite, Jess. They want to turn Bob Woodward into a 'crackerjack' sports reporter."

"I don't suppose that flies with you, huh?"

"Did you not hear the 'crackerjack' part?" Caitlin asked rhetorically as she made the quote signs in the air.

"I got a question for you," Jesse said with a slight smile. "So am I still your hero?"

"Maybe, why?"

"Might be my Chem Lab partner is Jennifer Hicks."

"Editor of the Nation page?"

"Yep, least read, most completely ignored single page section in the paper. Perfect for an outcast idealist like yourself. I might be convinced to make an introduction."

"What makes you think I'm an idealist?"

"Oh, I can spot one of you a mile away," Jess got out before a senior football player slapped him on the back of the head, yelling something about _Freshmen!_. The decision to be popular or unique didn't take too much thought after that.

"Please God, if you don't I'll have to interview people like him for a living."

"Hey, and people like me."

"Yeah, you're the exception to the rule. I mean a cool athlete? How often will I run across one like you?"

"Once in a lifetime, once in a lifetime. Meet me tomorrow right before lunch outside Room 5 in the science building and I'll make the intro. Cool, Cait?"

"Just call me Woodward, Jess. But not in front of large groups of people."

* * *

Kirsten fidgeted with a new pen for several minutes before realizing she had seriously chewed up the cap. _How did it end up like this? _The previous night at dinner had been perhaps the single most enjoyable Cohen-Cooper dinner in history. Everyone was so positive and happy. Everyone except Kirsten, that is. She didn't mean to be so down in the dumps. In fact, the dinner started off fine. She was content now that she new that she and Sandy would be talking to the boys that night. She decided that she could put them out of her mind for the evening. 

The first Cooper to start to get on Kirsten's nerves had actually been Caitlin. She had gone into detail about the newspaper. At first she thought it was wonderful that the young girl found an activity she enjoyed so quickly. But her line of discussion turned towards how Seth had suggested it to her. That evolved into how she already perfected the outcast attitude of Seth Cohen after only a single day. Kirsten really tried not to be a grump about it, but she almost reached for her cell phone a couple of times to call Seth. It didn't go overlooked by either of the Cohen parents how Caitlin expertly skated around the issue of Seth and Marissa being a couple even if she talked about the two of them constantly for several minutes. She wondered how Julie didn't catch on to it.

The contents of Julie's concentration at the time became their own long discussion point. Julie explained how wonderful the new offices were and went over her plans for the future. She planned on expanding the business out of just the Newport Beach elite throughout the entirety of Orange County. Her plans, surprisingly, made sense to Sandy of all people. And for Julie Cooper, extending their services outside of the top 1 seemed nearly hospitable of her. Even Sandy offered several words of encouragement for them on how well things seemed to be moving.

By the end of the meal, Kirsten practically pulled Sandy out the door and raced home to call the boys. Even if she had seen them the day before, Kirsten couldn't concentrate on anything except the permanence all of the recent changes to her life seemed to be taking. The long summer without Ryan around had been bad enough, but losing Seth so quickly only dragged her thoughts back two summers ago and the memories were not pleasant. When they arrived home, they quickly dialed the number for Seth's apartment only to discover he still had not connected the phone. Trying his cell they were sent to voicemail after several rings. Kirsten left a message explaining they just wanted to check up of him. She tried not to let her voice sound as desperate as she might have been. When Ryan likewise didn't answer she didn't even bother to leave a message. Even Sandy's kiss and words of comfort couldn't break her out of her funk this time. When he went to bed that night, Kirsten actually stood in front of the fridge staring at a bottle of wine for five minutes before finally thinking better of it and joining Sandy in bed.

As she finished destroying her second pen cap of the morning, Kirsten watched Julie direct around the furniture movers. How she had found everything so quickly, amazed her partner. Here it was just one in the afternoon and Kirsten was sitting behind her new glass desk, looking over five resumes Julie had dropped in front of her 10 seconds after the desk itself was put in place. They needed a receptionist to handle the phones and filing. On cue, Kirsten looked up out her front door to see a large filing cabinet being wheeled through the front door by two large men.

It then occurred to her how long Julie had been planning this. She apparently had everything set to go, but had been waiting on Kirsten to make up her mind. Julie had probably met with more than a couple furniture suppliers and read through many more resumes before handing Kirsten the choices that she most preferred. Even if they had just gotten back from lunch, Kirsten felt compelled to get out of the offices as quickly as possible. The changes in her life felt like they were getting ready to crush her. As she reached for her purse, the cell phone inside began ringing. Sitting back in her chair, Kirsten pulled it out to see a familiar name on the Caller ID.

"Hi honey," she answered the phone.

"Hey Mom," Seth replied as he skated along the campus sidewalks. "Got your message. What's new in the last, um, 35 hours?"

"Can't a mother miss her growing baby boy," Kirsten asked. She began smiling at Seth's playful tone.

"I suppose this might qualify on smothering, but I'll let you off the hook due to extenuating circumstances."

"Which are?"

"I missed you too."

"Well thanks. How's school going so far?"

"Well, accepting the fact that I might be biased by the nice lunch Marissa and I just ate, I have to say its going okay. Met the requisite teacher that will change my life, made a couple of nice acquaintances and…"

"And what?"

"Well, keep this on the down-low, especially from you-know-who, but Marissa and I, had the L-word talk this morning."

"What happened?" Kirsten said. She was loud enough for Julie to poke her head in the door with a questioning look before being shooed off.

"Do you even have to ask?" Seth responded with a smirk before continuing. "Actually with my track record not that bad a question. Things went as well as these things go. But… um.. you got time to answer a two fold Seth-Cohen-is-an-insecure-fool questions?"

"Well, considering nopthing in the last couple of days has made me as happy as this conversation, I think I can spare a couple minutes to put your fears to rest."

Kirsten leaned back in her chair and removed the pen cap from her mouth and tossing it in the trash basket. On the other end of the phone, Seth rolled to a stop outside of the campus library and leaned against the wall.

"Well the first is, do you think its weird Marissa and I haven't had a full on fight yet? I mean we come close, but my charm and her beauty have managed to keep the ship righted."

"Well, it's going to happen eventually Seth. And maybe it'll be soon if you're already waiting for the other shoe to drop. But as long as you don't look at it as the end of the relationship and just as part of it, you'll get through it all right."

"Yeah, I figured you'd impart some-such wisdom. Part two is the humdinger though. Wow, I just said humdinger. Is there anyway you think we can be okay with Ryan again and still avoid our first fight? See, I might, MIGHT, _might_, have called Ryan and left a couple messages asking him to hang out sometime, which he isn't replying to. And it is within the realm of possibilities that I did not tell Marissa about said phone calls."

"Seth…"

"I know, I know, but you know me. I'm always trying to get things back to the way they were before. I can't be talked out of it or stopped. It's just an involuntary compulsion. But now I'm torn between making everyone friends again without reminding Marissa how completely and utterly in love with Ryan she was."

"You can't think everything can be the way it was and you and Marissa can still be together. I mean a big part of both Ryan and Marissa was that they were a couple."

"Don't underestimate my ability to delude myself, Mother."

"You want this motherly advice or not Seth?" Kirsten asked leaning forward. After a moment she took his silence for an affirmation. "First off, if you want to avoid a fight I suggest talking to Marissa about how you feel about Ryan and your relationships. But sometimes in life, we have to accept that where we were and where we're going can't be the same place. That doesn't mean I the future won't be just as good, or even better."

"Wow, Mom, this little ditty of ours has been surprisingly comforting and even educational. Thanks for hearing me out."

"You too, Seth."

"Well, I'm going take your wisdom and add to it that of many, many library books now, so I'll talk to you soon."

"Study hard and be good. Give my love to Marissa."

"No prob. Oh, one last thing, we did want to spend a couple weeks at school, you know, just the two of us, but you think we could come, God I never imagined in my life I would say this, back to Newport to visit weekend after next?"

"As long as by that you mean you here in your room and Marissa at her mother's house in her own bed, I think that would be great."

"Well, we can talk about the finer points later. I gotta go. Love you."

Seth closed his phone and proceeded into the library to find a book on the Age of Enlightenment. Back in her office, Kirsten decided to take her own advice and get over her mini-depression. She walked into the conference room to discuss the layout with Julie.

* * *

That evening, Ryan sat along at a small round table in the back corner of the dining hall with a book he had picked up that afternoon. Only a couple chapters in, he had decided to try and get through it by the end of the week. He was only pecking at his meal, a ham sandwich and fries. He was so involved in the book, he didn't hear the boots approaching his table until the voice attached spoke up. 

"_On the Road_, huh?"

Looking up, he saw Layla standing in front of his table. Her hair was drawn back into a ponytail that ran over her backpack. She held a tray with a chicken sandwich, chips and a cup of pink lemonade. Without an invitation, she sat down in the seat next to him and tried looking over his shoulder at the words on the page.

"Some friends recommended it," he answered, trying hard to not look in her direction.

"Same friends as in that picture on the door?"

"Yes."

"Hey, I got a kinda 'sex vibe' off of that thing. You have the hots for that girl?"

"No." he lied.

"The guy?"

"He's my brother. And before you ask the question again, that means the answer is no."

"Wow, it's like you've known me for years," she deadpanned. "So where are these supposed friends of yours, Ry?"

"Well, _Miss Crowne_, is you must know; they go to USC. By the way, didn't you make me promise to avoid you for awhile?"

"Yeah, decided that was a stupid rule. I mean, hey one of mine, so no big surprise there. Figured the best course of action was to… hey what did I tell you about that Miss Crowne, B-S?"

"What did I tell you about calling me Ry?"

"That you found it to be charming and attractive. I think there was poetry involved."

Ryan scoffed at her for a response and tried to return to his book. Before he managed to finish the paragraph he was on, Layla's drawl chirped back in.

"So, it's cool if I just chit-chat with myself, right? I've always found all silences to be uncomfortable ones. It's kind of weird 'cause I don't just act this way around strangers. I can't share a comfortable silence with anybody; not my mom, my little brother, extended family, friends—"

"Casual flings," Ryan added without looking up from his book.

"Oh, I see how it is," Layla began, talking while chewing through her chicken sandwich. "I've done you wrong, so you go all quiet and broody on me. Man, have I ever got you pegged. That's cool. I can do that, too. All I'm gonna say is you really have no reason to be mad at me since you did everything I did last night. Well, almost everything."

Determined not to look at her, Ryan attempted to bore through his book with his eyes. Not really reading anymore or concentrating on anything in particular, he started to raise his eyes towards her. Still he let the silence hang a little longer before speaking.

"I'm not seeing anybody," Ryan hadn't even realized he wanted to talk to her until the statement was already out of his mouth.

"So?"

"Well it was your question, I just answered it."

"I crossed that question out, it doesn't count. Besides it was just a long time since I woke up with somebody who had baby pictures. It's just different with guys who are parents. I have dad issues."

"You've got some kind of issues," Ryan joked. In response to it, Layla hit his arm, HARD. It was how you hit somebody if you really wanted to cause them physical pain. A girl had never hit him like that before. "Ow."

"Don't be a baby. And don't be a jerk; it doesn't suit you. Believe me, that's my area of expertise. Plus I don't need this shit. It's not like there aren't plenty of other people around here that would love my company. I'm a people-person."

Remembering what happened last time, Ryan holds back from making any noise in response to that last statement. Instead he looks up from book to see her breaking up her chips with a fork.

"So why exactly are you sitting with me? I get that you changed your mind, but I have to admit I'm curious as to why."

"Beats me. Like I said last night, you mess me up. Make me act all crazy-like. You're like some stray puppy or something."

"So," Ryan began slowly, looking her in the eye. "This mean you want to be a co—"

"Don't even say the coup— word. You don't mess me up that much. We just had sex, no need to propose or anything, Mr. Responsible. Let's just say I'll take pity on you and hang out with your sorry butt."

"So not even friends?"

"Nope, but hey at least you can still enjoy the 'with benefits' part. But, I'll probably leave you in the middle of the night and never talk to you again. Just so you're prepared."

"Thanks a lot. You know I act different around you too."

"Ain't we a couple of misfits. Wanna blow this pop stand?" she asked grabbing his book from his hands.

"I suppose," Ryan answered standing and picking up his tray.

"Well don't be all excited, it ain't like you'll get lucky or anything."

"Huh," Ryan said mostly to himself as he followed her away from the table and towards the doors. "It really is a brave new world."

"Is that some literature reference? God, I'm hangin with dorks now."


End file.
